Haunted
by SatoshiluverXOXO
Summary: Gaara is still haunted by his past. The only ones who have ever showed him true love was still subtle from his siblings. But someone else is there to take him away from the darkness that continues to haunt his mind. But... how will he react? GaaraxOC, R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I'd be rich and would spend my time making this a real ep. than just a fanfic XD

Anyways, this is my first fanfic. I have role-played so I could master/understand the personalities of the Naruto characters. If you don't like my couples, I'm sorry. XD Anyways, here goes my first chapter! This story is for my favorite man, Gaara! Oh, and here are ze couples that will be seen.

ShikaxTemar KankuroXsomeone GaaraXoc and the others will be revealed later on.

This takes place after the exams by a few years. Thus Gaara is the Kazekage and is the age of 20, Shukaku is less of a threat, but is still the bad boy that we all know and love.

The night was pitch black, as though a blanket of black silk had draped itself over the land of sand. (That rhymed o.0) Very little made noise, except for the gentle breeze as it swept up small bits of sand.

A lone figure stood on a dune, his wonderful aquamarine eyes scanning the desert before him. In the darkness, he was well hidden with his black pants and blood-colored shirt. The gourd on his back was open, allowing sand to fall into a small pile before it was lifted away.

'_The demon in me has calmed, yet I am still haunted_.' His mind said. He closed his eyes, listening to the silent night around him. He reopened them when he heard the gallop of horse hooves.

Turning his head, he spotted a large band of horsemen chasing someone. He immediately took action, racing over to see what was happening.

'_Why won't they give up?'_ she thought, glancing over her shoulder. _'Damn! They're catching up now! I've been running for practically an hour…'_ she added more chakra to her feet, speeding up. Her long blond hair had fallen down long ago, the curls falling into her face. Her clothes were tattered and cut as well. But the only thing she cared about was getting away from those who were chasing her. It's not like it was her fault anyways…at least not all her fault.

Flash back

The blond haired kunoichi was jumping through the trees, keeping watch of the borders of the Village Hidden in the Rain that rested in between the Sand and Fire country. Her assignment was to stop the transportation of a slave gatherer group between the countries. Sources had given them a map showing them the route the carts were taking.

"Greedy men…" she muttered, stopping to take a short break.

At first glance, many would mistake her for a young teen. By standing at only 5'2", it was a common mistake. The rest of her features though could enchant just about any bachelor, along with stick out in a crowd. Her bright gold hair stayed in constant gold loops, curling perfectly into separate coils. She kept it up though in a high ponytail, allowing two strands to fall along the sides of her calm, gentle face. Her eyes were a light hazel, darkening to a darker hazel in the night, almost black. So far, very few emotions could be read from her eyes; only anger, irritation, and hate. She normally went around with a blank look in her eyes, but comment on her size, and you're bound to get burned.

She wore a beige tank top with a short, dark brown zipper jacket that stopped just below her breasts. A deep, dark red colored skirt (with beige shorts underneath of course) with a beige cloth belt, her villages head protector with the symbol of Suna as its buckle.

She took out her water container, drinking only enough to keep her hydrated. She didn't know if she would be able to refill it before heading back to Suna, and the desert wasn't always kind. She nibbled on some bread she had brought, examining her surroundings. Trees weren't very often in the desert, and they always had a calming effect on her. They seemed so ancient, and had no real enemies besides the people that cut them down. She rested her head against ones bark, taking in the smell of pine and wood. '_So old, yet still so young._' she thought. She allowed herself to relax, knowing that she was going to need all of the energy she had if she wanted the mission to be successful. Once she was done, she started off again, not stopping until she reached her destination.

It was dark by then, and her targets would be arriving in a few hours. She began to set up her traps, trip wires that would help kill those in front so her job would be easier. About an hour after she finished, the faint sound of horse hooves on the ground could be heard.

She jumped into her hiding place, careful not to set anything off before setting herself up for the ambush. '_Maybe I should have allowed the others to come… oh well. This shouldn't be too hard as long as the information given is right.'_

It wasn't for another ten minutes when the horses came into view. '_Damn! There are three times the number I was told!'_ She inwardly cursed. This was not good…

The unknowing men slowly walked into the trap, their horses seemed to sense the presence of the hiding ninja, but it went on unnoticed. Smirking at their reckless confidence, she threw a kunai, cutting the rope that held her traps at bay. Screams and shouts echoed the trees as blood began to spray. Blades or heavy branches crushed or sliced through the front of the group. She then went straight to work before they could retaliate against her assault. She threw a few shuriken, cutting the ropes connecting the rider's saddles to their horses while the others cut the ropes connecting the horses to the wagon of prisoners/slaves.

By then, those in the back of the slave traders group had come forward, taking out their dangerous looking weapons. '_Too many for me to kill in close combat...' _she thought, and picked up a rock. She threw it heftily into the darkness. The noise it made worked, for half of the group went after it. '_Much better,' _and took out her choice of weapon. Two elbow blades, one red and the other black.

She did the appropriate hand sings, and created clones of herself, jumping out with them into the view of her targets. Not smart, but she didn't want any unneeded blood staining her hands. "You are charged of possessing and trading of slaves. The fine is death. You have the choice, though, to come quietly. If you do so, the Kazekage of Suna may feel pity and reduce your sentence."

As she expected, the men weren't going to go down without a fight. They yelled, lunging at the clones while the real ninja slipped by. With her blades, she sliced through the locks that chained the prisoners, pointing the way they had come. They took the hint, and slipped away as quietly as possible. "Now let's have some fun." She said, racing back into the fray.

The large band had turned into a small group in a matter of minutes, surrounded by the stern faces of the sand kunoichi. "By resisting arrest," they all said, "You are to face death. No mercy shall be given." And it was done.

The blond sighed as her clones disappeared. "That was annoying…" she muttered, turning around to leave, only to face a face of a horse. "Oh shit." She cursed, seeing the club as it struck the side of her head. Yet, she didn't knock out. Feeling the warm blood drip down the side of her face, she turned and ran.

End of Flashback

After running through the trees and branches and having poorly thrown kunai and rocks at her, she had collected quite a few cuts and bruises. It had only been a few minutes of running, but to her, it felt like hours. Her legs were sore and her lungs begged for more oxygen. She had used a good amount of chakra from making those clones, and she needed as much as she could get if she was going to fight off the men behind her. So she blocked all signs of fatigue and pain to the back of her mind. '_Must get to Suna…'_ she repeated in her head, before tripping over a patch of desert shrub. "Damn it!" she yelled, for she had badly hurt her ankle. Ignoring once again the pain that was screaming through her leg, she managed to limp a few more yards before she fell again. "I guess running isn't an option..." she muttered, standing up and turning to face her enemies.

She performed a few hand seals, and her elbow blades lit on fire, but didn't burn her skin. "Desert Felines Claws of Fire!" she yelled, swinging the fire blades. With every swing, a slice of fire shot out, hitting the first few front horsemen. The fire took the form of claws as it tore through the enemies. "Damn, I can't pick them off like this," she shot another, "there are just too many!"

They were only a few yards away now, and she knew they would either kill or capture her. "Like hell they will!" she roared, firing as many fire claws as she could. Blood from her head wound dripped into her eyes, turning her vision slightly red. They surrounded her in a circle before closing in. "Heh, just like always. I'm a trapped animal." She muttered through gritted teeth.

One of the slavers on a black horse slowly rode towards her. She glared at him, rising her arms to fire again when she felt an arrow pierce through her right shoulder. She let out a sharp yelp, grasping the shaft and pulling it out. They laughed at her, taunting her and saying how she was going to wish she was dead. _'Yadda, yadda, yadda… like this is news to me.'_ She thought, rolling her eyes and throwing the arrow at the man on the black horse. It went into his forehead with a loud thud, killing him instantly.

During this time, the sand underneath them had begun to shift. Just before they were able to throw a net or fire at the kunoichi, it burst up, capturing the slavers while the horses freaked, throwing their riders off and running. The kunoichi blinked, barely hearing 'Sand Coffin', before the yelling men screamed as the sand crushed them. Their blood splattered all over her and the sand around them.

She wiped away at her eyes, seeing the Kazekage of Suna staring at her. Like most people in Suna, she knew of his bloody past. Yet, she was neither afraid nor intimidated by him. It was probably because if he was going to kill her, then he probably wouldn't have saved her. Then again, he may have done that so he could kill her personally. Oh well, she'd feel better if it was him that did that job compared to the slavers. "What?" she asked, irritation and fatigue showing in her voice. When Gaara didn't answer, she shrugged her shoulders and limped to a place where the sand wasn't soaked in blood. She sat down and examined her ankle. _'How the hell did I break it on something so simple?' _She hadn't notice Gaara walk over and stand behind her while she examined her ankle. "Who are you." He said, more like a demand than a question.

"Kira, Kazekage-sama," she replied, standing up. He glanced at her headband. "What was your mission?"

"To go to the borders, intercept the trade slavers, kill them, and release the prisoners."

"Hn."

"The mission has been completed. If I may take my leave…" He simply stared at her, and then looked down at her feet. He poked her injured shoulder experimentally.

She winced slightly, "I will be fine, Kazekage-sama."

"Don't call me that. Call me by my name." he snapped, then picked her up, placing her over his shoulder. She didn't fuss or fight, for she knew she was in no position to complain. "Gaara?"

"You can't walk. It's my job to take care of the residents and ninja who visit or lives in Suna."

"Fine, but why were you out here? We're quite a few miles from Suna."

"…"

When he didn't reply, Kira didn't press him for an answer. It was almost midnight when they arrived in Suna. Instead of asking for directions to her home, Gaara headed towards the home he and his siblings shared.

END OF CHAPTER. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Flames are fine. It helps me write better.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm SO glad that people like this. I try to be as detailed at possible, so I guess that does help out. I was pretty shocked that people reviewed so soon. I don't update unless I get some reviews, so please write them, even if their short! The only reason I updated so soon is because my best friend kept nagging at me, lol.

XD and as you will see, my Kira may not be all powerful, but she can pack in quite a punch. I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as I did while writing it. I plan on making this fanfic at least 10 chapters… just gotta remember what plot I thought of XD I'm such a blond sometimes.

Oh, and the typing in **bold** is Shukaku… just a tip.

The lights were still on inside when Gaara and Kira arrived. Kira was curious on what it may look like inside. Her apartment was pretty empty, but that was common for ninja who lived by themselves or are normally off on missions. She rarely had company besides her cat… that was probably going to be ticked for being neglected.

Gaara opened the front door, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. He entered, closing the door with his sand behind him. Yelling could be heard farther inside, but Kira was too busy looking around from over Gaara's shoulder to notice. It wasn't quite as nice as others had told her, but it was definitely cleaner and nicer than the other homes in Suna. Scrolls filled various shelves and cabinets, mats and woven rugs lay on the stone tiled floor, while paintings and writings or symbols on paper decorated the walls. Vases with fake flowers and other trinkets made the place seem more homey and fancy. She could see the kitchen and dining room, which looked to have never been eaten in, to the right, the main living/yelling room straight ahead, and the weapons room to the left. There was also a staircase, which she figured led to the dozens of bedrooms and offices.

As they entered the living room, a woman with blond hair tied up in four pigtails was standing up with her hands on her hips. She was yelling at a man sitting down on one of the couches. He wore a loose full body black outfit, and had what looked to be either makeup or tattoos on his face. Kira recognized them immediately as Temari and Kankuro, having seen them numerous of times during the festivals or shopping plaza. When Gaara entered with a bloody girl in rags, Temari ceased her yelling to stare in shock. "What the hell happened?" she asked, moving towards them.

"…" Gaara didn't reply. Instead, he turned and headed up the stairs, leaving his sister with no choice but to follow.

Gaara took Kira to an empty room and placed her on the bed, looking at Temari expectantly. "Right." She muttered and left the room, returning a few minutes later with medicine, bandages, and a pair of her old clothes. "I doubt these will fit perfectly. By the looks of you, you're at least 13 years old. What were you doing this late on your own?" she asked as she placed them on a table next to the bed.

Kira glared at the older girl, "First of all," she said, rather coldly, "I'm almost 20, I'm just short." Her eyes went back to their stoic outlook. "But thank you for the clothes, I'm sure their better than the ones I have on. I was on a mission."

"How did you get like this?"

"The information on how many and how well trained my targets was completely wrong."

Temari gave a small nod, "I see… what's your name?"

"Kira"

"Ok… Kira." She said, wondering where the last name was, "Do you have your mission scroll?" This caused Kira to frown slightly. She fumbled through her shredded pack before taking out a worn scroll. She tossed it to Temari, who read it and seemed almost satisfied. "Why were you assigned this on your own?"

"I like to fight without other ninjas, always have."

"So why are you here?"

'_So many fucking questions,'_ Kira thought before sighing, "Might as well tell you my mission report then." She said, and told Temari and Gaara, who was standing at the foot of the bed, watching and listening, what happened. When she finished, Temari let out a low whistle. "Then Gaara saved you and brought you here… but that doesn't really answer my question," she looked at her little brother, "Mind explaining?"

Gaara didn't answer, again. He turned, again, and headed towards the door. He stopped before leaving though, "Come get me when you're done tending her wounds." He ordered, and left.

Temari left the room, bumping into the puppet user, Kankuro. He frowned at her, and looked around her to peek through the crack of the door. "Her name is Kira, Kankuro, but any other questions I've asked about her personal life went unanswered." Temari told him, glancing over her shoulder at the now bandaged kunoichi.

Kankuro gave a small nod, "She's prettier when she isn't covered in blood. I've never seen curly hair like that in these parts…"

"You can stare at her, but if she finds out, don't come whining to me when she tries to kill you. I'm going to see if I can find something on her in Gaara's office. Her cuts and bruises have been taken care of. She has a broken ankle and a wound through her shoulder, but nothing fatal. Go get Gaara and tell him this. He should explain why he brought her here instead of the infirmary now that she's been taken care of. He left, but should be back, I heard footsteps on the roof."

Kankuro frowned, "Yeah, yeah, I'll go get him." He replied before going up to the roof.

Kankuro found Gaara staring over Suna, and cautiously strode over to him. "Kira has been taken care of. Temari says her ankle is broken and she has a wound through her shoulder, but nothing fatal. She went to see if she can get some information on the girl as well since she won't answer any questions on her personal life. But then again, not many of us like our past."

Gaara's eyes moved to look at his brother, "Fine, I will meet you in her room in ten minutes. Temari should be done by then."

Kankuro frowned. He had hoped to get to bed after telling Gaara Temari's message. '_Oh well… I'll get to learn about the chick Gaara brought home.' _And then realized how strange that sounded. '_Gaara... bringing a girl home. HA!' _

Gaara stared at his brother as Kankuro began to smile strangely. But before he could question it, the older man left. Gaara shook his head, _'I don't think I'll ever understand him.'_

Temari found the file, skimming it before tucking it under her arm. She gave a small and satisfying smirk, "This should be interesting…" she said before heading back to their guest's room.

When Gaara arrived in Kira's new room, he wasn't surprised to see his brother and sister already there. The two girls were talking to Kankuro, filling him in on what he had missed. Kira's golden curls were down, framing her face which gave her an angelic look. Her foot was elevated in a crude cast, and her shoulder was bandaged. She was wearing Temari's clothes, which were indeed rather long, but fit well enough.

They paused when Gaara entered, but went back to explaining the mission. He walked over and took his recent position. He watched the three, noticing that Kira only said what she needed to, nothing more. She also seemed unused to the attention and conversation.

"So Gaara just brought you here?" Kankuro asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"Do you care?" '_Most people would be freaked…'_

"Not really."

"Hn." He grunted, apparently finished. He looked at Gaara and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Well?"

Gaara stared coolly back at him before placing his gourd against the bed. "Temari, what did you find?"

Kira blinked, confused about what she might have been looking for. But when she saw the other take out a file and hand it to the Kazekage, she figured it out, "You won't find much." She stated. All Gaara found was her age, date of birth and graduation, amount of missions completed, for none of them were failed, and no information on family or past.

He frowned, putting them away before handing it back to Temari, "How did you kill those men?" he asked, getting to a point.

"Like I told you already, I set a trap, created clones, and then fought."

Gaara fixed his cold blue eyes on her emotionless hazel ones. "Most of those men were top ninja. Missing Nin that escaped the forces of villages all over. How did you kill them?"

She narrowed her eyes, "You went there, you tell me."

Gaara was getting annoyed. If she had talked to him like this a few years ago, she'd be dead by now. "I found some bodies burnt, others had fallen in traps. But the rest were either cut by two blades… or torn apart by some sort of animal or sliced by something else." Kira strummed her fingers against the bed sheets impatiently as she stalled with her answer. It was at that moment that Gaara noticed her long, sharp nails. His sand shot out, wrapping around her wrist and pulling her hand and body towards him. It was her good arm, so he didn't hurt her in any way. "You nails are long, even for a girl," He placed a finger against them, "and they're not fake.

Kira tugged her arm, but Gaara's sand held strong. "It's something that I've been able to do since I was a child." Her nails sharpened into claws as her eyes changed catlike. Her canines became sharper as well. "It's a family trait. We were known as the 'Fire Cats'."

"'_Fire _Cats?'" Kankuro asked.

"We can create fire with our chakra, like other ninja, but at larger quantities and control it freely with ease and hardly any chakra. It not only burns, but slices. We aren't as strong in muscle strength as some wolf or dog clans, but our speed, endurance, and fighting style is that of a cat. We sneak and pounce as some say. We're very light on our feet as well."

"Now with that foot you're not." Temari said, standing up. "Gaara, not to be rude, but we need to leave Kira alone. She needs her rest."

Gaara nodded, "Fine, but tomorrow she's going to answer some questions."

Kira scowled, '_Too many questions for my liking._'

Gaara turned to her, "Tomorrow you will give Temari your address. She'll go and pick up clothes for you. Until you are healed, you will stay here."

"Why?" she asked, finally pulling her arm free as his sand released her. "I live in an apartment just a few blocks away, and I can handle myself."

"Because…" he replied, picking up his gourd. "You're file is too empty. I cannot allow you to go on missions or walk around until I see what you can do." And he left.

Kankuro frowned, "Don't mind him. He's like that most of the time." He stood up and yawned. "See ya in the morning then…"

Kira simply nodded, looking out the window. Kankuro went to his own room, leaving Kira with Temari. The older girl sensed the other's confusion and uneasiness. "Don't worry, with the right jutsus, you're leg will be fixed in no time."

"You know our medic nin were sent off to Konoha for lessons from Tsunade."

That was true. Gaara had seen Konoha's medics excelling and decided their medics should spend a few weeks there. The nins didn't complain. It was a bit of a vacation to them. "Well I'm sure you'll get better soon." She said, and left the kunoichi alone to rest.

Gaara hopped on top of the house for the second time that evening/morning. He did that every morning so he could watch the sun rise. It seemed to help him later on when he was too busy with the jobs of being the Kazekage to control his anger. He stopped though when he spotted a certain kunoichi up there already. '_Why is she up and moving? Her foot and shoulder is injured and Temari had told her to get some sleep…_'

Kira didn't seem to have noticed him as she continued to move around on the roof. She had one of the blades she used held with her good arm, and was twirling about skillfully. She moved with smooth and graceful steps, not once allowing weight on her broken ankle. He crept closer, closing his eyes at the sudden light as the sun began to rise and suddenly felt the cold of steel on his neck before it was replaced with his sand. Her words echoed in his mind. '_Our speed, endurance, and fighting styles are that of a cat…sneak and pounce…We're light on our feet as well'_... **She's Fast,** Shukaku stated.

Gaara ignored the demon as his sand wrapped around Kira's small, yet slender frame. She gave a small gasp, but didn't struggle as the sand pulled her in front of him. "You shouldn't have attacked me." He growled.

"You shouldn't have snuck up on me." She retorted.

He ignored her accusation. "What are you doing up here?"

She moved around in the sand so that it didn't put too much pressure on her injured shoulder. "I was practicing and performing my morning exercises… it helps me get ready for the day." She replied, then gestured to the sand, "Could you release me now?"

Gaara released his sand, and it returned to his gourd. "You're foot is broken and your shoulder is shot through, why are you moving around?"

Kira sighed, lowering down on the roof so that she was sitting. "You three ask quite a lot of questions, but most of them you can answer on your own. I'm training because I want to. I know my leg and shoulder are injured, but why should it stop me from using the ones that are fine? It's just the same as to why I _should _andwhy I _shouldn't._" She patted the empty space next to her. Gaara was reluctant to sit, watching her cautiously as she placed her weapon down. "Why are _you_ up here?" she said, echoing his question.

"I come here every morning." He replied bluntly. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't press for an explanation. She simply stared at the sunrise, which confused Gaara. She stood up after the sun had risen fully above the horizon, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry if I alarmed you or was rude, Gaara-sama." She said and disappeared into the mansion.

**She's fast.**

'_I know… when she is healed, I will spar with her to see her limits.'_

**She has more chakra than the other female… your sister.**

_Is it demonic?_

**No.**

_Then why do you care?_

…

_Fine… but no killing. We only kill enemies._

Kira had returned to her room, falling asleep almost instantly in the soft bed. It was only a few minutes later that Kankuro knocked before entering with a tray of food. Kira growled at him for waking her up, but sat up and thanked him anyways. Her stomach rumbled, causing Kankuro to laugh. "Good thing I brought quite a bit. I figured you'd be hungry." He leaned against the desk, taking out a pen and paper. After getting her address between her mouthfuls and hidden key location he asked if Temari needed to grab anything in particular.

"My clothes, brushes, shower stuff which is in a small red case under the sink…" she listed a few more items, the usual things a girl needs. "Do you allow pets here?" she asked when she was finished.

"No, not really. Why?"

"Because I can't leave my cat alone at home for too long."

"Can't someone take care of it for you?"

She lowered her gaze, "No, I don't know anyone who can."

He frowned, feeling slightly guilty for making the pretty little ninja sad. "I think your cat will be allowed here. Do you need Temari to bring it and its things?"

"No, just tell her to tell it where I am and it'll come on its own. If the cat is not there though, just leave a note."

'_It can read…?_' "How big is your cat?" he asked, knowing that some ninja had **BIG** cats for hunting and battles.

"It's a female, and she's my partner on some missions. She's only about two feet tall. Looks like an ordinary house cat."

Kankuro sighed in relief. "Good, then she'll be fine."

She smiled, much to his surprise, "Good. She's very important to me. Could you tell Gaara about her? I want to make sure he doesn't get angry and does something he'd regret."

"Good idea. I'm making you a crutch for the arm that wasn't hurt so you can move around better. It should be done at about noon."

"Thank you, Kankuro."

He grinned, "Not a problem, not a problem at all…"

When Kankuro left, Kira put on an annoyed look. "Sorry Kankuro, but you're not quite my type." She then glanced around, as if someone was watching her and slipped out of bed. She carefully went to the window, throwing the curtains open. She came face to face with an eye… or would that be face to eye? She crossed her arms in front of her, "If you want to see me, just come inside."

Gaara swung down and through the now open window. **She sensed the jutsu when your brother didn't.**

'_Would you stop pointing things out? I'm not blind!_'

Kira eyed the Kazekage, walking over to her bed and laying back down. "I haven't gotten the chance to thank you yet… so thank you. I wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't saved me."

Gaara gave a short nod and walked over to his place from yesterday. "When your leg and shoulder is healed, you are to report here to train twice a week with Temari and Kankuro."

She looked over to him calmly, "I haven't argued about the orders you have given me so far, but I don't see why I really need to come here twice a week."

"I couldn't care less what you think." He replied harshly. "Kankuro and Temari need a new sparring partner. You're the only ninja that seems strong enough."

She pouted, crossing her arms. "Ok, but I get to bring my cat. She's my partner."

'_A cat? Not a panther or lion or something? I know some ninja use dogs, like the Inuzuka clan in Konoha.'_ Gaara tilted his head to the side slightly. "That will be fine." He said, and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

Kira leaned back against the pillows. "And I thought I'd be able to stay here without a million questions…. Oh well," She closed her eyes, "Maybe by revealing a bit about me, my paycheck will rise." She smirked, "That'd be nice…"

The rest of the day was a little less eventful. Kankuro ran in with Kira's crutches, receiving a large bump on his cranium for waking her up again. Temari came by at sundown with Kira's things, apologizing if she forgot anything and helped put the items away. Gaara had left after speaking with Kira that morning, and it wasn't until dinner that he arrived. He gave Temari and Kankuro some papers, and disappeared into his office after snatching a plate filled with food.

Temari shook her head, plopping the papers on the counter. "He's getting lazy again with his paperwork…" she muttered, but froze when she heard a scratching noise. "What the hell is that?" she asked, peering out at the front door. Kira picked up her crutch and moved towards it. "What are you doing? For all we know it could be an enemy!" she whispered harshly.

"It's not." Kira replied, opening the door to be greeted by a happy meow. "I was wondering when you'd get here, you didn't get lost again, did you?" she asked a cat, who replied with a short, irritated meow before entering.

Kankuro walked over and squatted in front of the strange feline. "What kind of cat is this?" he asked, putting his hand out. Kira's cat didn't look like your average kitty, unless red eyes and fur that changed from black, to red, to orange, and to yellow, giving it a resemblance of a flame was normal. It also had a small pack on, filled with food, toys, a mini pillow, and a bunch of other kitty needs. (It's the kitty donkey!)

Kira hobbled over on her crutch. She bent over and picked up the unique feline. "She's a rare breed only found from my birthplace. She can mold her chakra, and by loaning a bit of mine, light on fire or use it while attacking with claws and fangs." Se stroked the cat affectionately, "Her name is Kina."

'_An animal lover… I wonder if she likes raccoons or pandas. Well at least now she should be fine until her ankle and shoulder heal.'_ Temari figured, smiling.

Kira whispered something to Kina, who meowed and left, heading for the room Kira was staying in. "Now I think I'll feel more at home." She yawned, "Thanks for dinner, Kankuro… now I know who to ask if I have trouble in a kitchen. Remind me not to ask Temari to cook next time. Night." She said, and followed Kina up the stairs.

Temari blinked, scowling when she realized what the girl had said. "It's only 7:30…"

Kankuro chuckled and shrugged, "Must be a cat thing."

Gaara rubbed his temples, "How I _loathe_ paperwork." He muttered, finishing the last one and sorting it into its pile. His sand then picked up the different stacks and put them in the correct cabinets. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath when he heard footsteps mixed with wood walking down the hall. '_She's going to bed this early?'_ he thought, and then noticed that it was actually past midnight. '_No, she's going to bed this late.'_ He stood up, picked up his gourd, and walked to his door.

He had heard Kira go into her room earlier, but he also heard a window open and a soft patter on the roof. He thought it had been sand from the desert hitting the roof, but now knew Kira had been practicing again. He opened his door, peering down the hall to see a cat with red eyes. '_That must be the cat I heard her talking about.'_

He walked towards Kina, who gave a small purr before jumping on his shoulder. His sand reacted, but stopped as he realized she was only rubbing against his head affectionately. '_What the fuck?'_

He saw Kira's door open as she walked out, only to watch her stop and stare. She covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter. Anyone would have laughed at the sight of Subaku no Gaara, eyes wide and blinking, his sand ready to kill as a small cat rubbed against the side of his face.

He glared at her, then snatched Kina and threw the cat at its owner, whom caught her precious pet and glared back. "That wasn't very nice." She growled.

"Tell that thing to stay away from me."

"Tell her yourself. She's not your average cat, and is not one to forgive easily."

Gaara gave a snort before turning and walking back into his office.

Kina snuggled against Kira, "_Don't be mad at him… I can tell he's been hurt._"

Kira sighed, limping back into her room. "If you say so… but be more careful next time. You're all I got."

Kina hopped out of Kira's arms and onto her spot on the bed. "_Only if you do the same."_ She flicked her tail at Kira's foot and shoulder.

Kira nestled down on the bed beside her, "Alright, and I'll even try to get to know our Kazekage as a bonus."

"_He's cute…"_

"Kina!"

"_What?"_

"You're not even human…"

"_Just saying… he's skin is soft and so is his hair… like a baby."_

Kira chuckled, "Kina…"

"_Alright, alright."_

"I wasn't scolding you."

"_Oh…purr."_


	3. Chapter 3

Okies I do not own Naruto, and thank you all for the new reviews. I'll comment at the end since you all would probably like to read this instead of listen to me rant.

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Kira's stay for the next few days was pretty much the same. Sleep, eat, talk to Kina or Temari and Kankuro when they were home, eat, play and train with Kina secretly, shower, sleep, start over.

A nin in medical training had been found and came once a day to check Kira's wounds. He was able to heal her shoulder, so she was able to use both of her arms easily. But her foot and ankle could only heal normally until the others got back. The medic hadn't learned how to fix bones yet, and Kira wasn't about to be a guinea pig.

Kira rarely saw Gaara. The only time he seemed to be home was on her checkups, which he studied from his spot at the foot of the bed, or at night, locked up in his office. She did hear him every morning on the roof, and every once in awhile she would go up too, but was careful to give him his space and respected the silence. She often got the feeling of being watched, but with Kina around she was able to calm herself from the paranoia. The two were rarely seen apart.

The day finally came when the medic nin of Suna came from their 'vacation'. Gaara had one sent for immediately, and Kira's ankle was fixed in moments under the watch of the Kazekage. He said it was to see how much they learned.

"Yes! I can go home now. I probably need to empty out the fridge… that casserole is probably bad enough to kill me."

Temari was a little down that the other woman would be leaving. It was nice to have another female in the house. Kankuro had learned not to come in when Kira was sleeping, and knew Temari would go back to yelling at him again the moment Kira left. '_Ah, who the hell am I kidding? Things have been a little bit calmer since Gaara brought Kira here.'_

Kira stayed another day to pack with Temari. They finished at around noon and decided to out for some lunch. As they walked around the streets, Temari waved and said a loud 'Hello!' to everyone she recognized in the busy streets while Kira walked quietly next to her, Kina on her shoulder.

"Kira, you haven't said a word, something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no I'm fine. I just don't know many people besides my old team and Kina."

"Why is that?" Temari asked, leading them to an open bar restaurant. They both ordered some miso noodles and an order of sashimi for Kina.

Kira waited for their meal before answering. "I had a team, but I always just left or didn't tell them about the missions. I've been a bit of an outcast since I'm not from Suna and was covered in blood when the ninja's who were guarding the gate found me. I was about 6, and I had no family with me when I came. The others kids didn't think I belonged here because I was an orphan and a couple of rumors." She poured something on Kina's dish, "When the Kazekage, your father at the time, signed the paper to give me a foster family, I ran away."

"You were the runaway child that took a week for us to find?!"

Kira gave a small smile, "Yep, and I would have stayed hidden longer if a certain little kitty hadn't made so much darn noise." She said while ruffling the cat's head.

Kina gave an irritated meow, "_It wasn't my fault you forgot the milk."_

Temari chewed her noodles thoughtfully, "Why did you run away?"

Kira drained her bowl before answering, "Because they didn't want me." She replied bluntly. "Why stay? Anyways, after that they simply gave me a small apartment. Every hour or so some random ninja would come to check up on me. Then when they figured I was old and responsible enough, they stopped checking on me. I earned money from my missions."

Temari nodded, and quieted down as she began a conversation with the waitress.

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"Where did you go?" the bone-chilling voice of Gaara demanded.

"I just went to get something to eat with Temari." Kira replied, sitting down in the empty chair. She gave a small gasp as Gaara's sand jerked her back up onto her feet.

Temari and Kira had gotten back to the mansion a few minutes ago. Gaara had appeared and told Temari to leave. He said he needed to speak with Kira in his office. Temari didn't object as she took her fan and left the mansion, saying she had a few 'errands' anyways.

Gaara walked over to Kira and traced his desert tanned fingers where her shoulder had been injured. When she didn't flinch, his sand prodded and moved her foot. "Gaara-sama, I'm healed. You saw the medic heal me completely." She said, fidgeting in the sand.

Gaara decided to see if this girl was like the others… scared of him. He leaned his face close, "Do you not like my sand...Kira?" he asked, making his voice so chilling, it sent shivers down her spine. He constricted his sand slightly, squeezing her small body. Kira frowned, closing her eyes. This irritated him, and he was about to constrict her even tighter when she finally answered.

"Knowing that it can kill me within a few seconds if it manages to capture me, yes, I am frightened by it." She opened her eyes and stared back into his eyes. Gaara was surprised at the sudden emotions he could read in her eyes, though his own face never showed it. "Tell me, Gaara-_sama…"_ She put emphasis on that part to show her anger. "If _you_ like _my_ fire."

Gaara felt a tingling feeling as the room lit up slightly around him. He glanced around before realizing _'I'm on fire... but…I'm not burning.' _"I don't understand." He said, hiding the paranoia he felt on how he might begin to burn at any moment.

Kira had a mischievous grin on her face. "It's like your sand. At any moment, I can make it burn you to a crisp. While at any moment your sand can go right through me."

He frowned, not only for his ignorance on the answer to his question, but the fact that she wasn't afraid… but for some reason, he was slightly glad she wasn't screaming for help.

"Now, if you release me from your sand, I'll take off the fire." She said, her face hard and voice showing command…Gaara wasn't used to that, and he didn't like it. His sand lowered down, and Kira put out the fire she had lit on him. But before his sand was put away, it grabbed her leg, throwing her across the room towards the far wall. She did a small flip, her feet planting firmly against it before pushing off and launching herself back at him. His sand caught her, keeping her suspended in the air. She growled, her muscles tensed as she tried to push through. Seeing it was hopeless she gave in and hung her head.

'**She has fast reflexes.'**

'_Would you leave me alone, demon? I've been avoiding her because you keep ranting about the feeling of her wiggling around in your sand before you kill her. That's why I avoid her. I will **not** kill her.'_

'**Can we hurt her? Just a little?'**

'_NO!' _Gaara hadn't realized that when he said this to Shukaku, he had accidentally constricted the girl ninja even tighter, causing her to gasp as she struggled for air. She glared at him, the ferocity in her eyes sent shivers down his spine…but… Subaku no Gaara… Gaara of the Desert doesn't feel _fear. _People fear _him._ It was… enticing.

He finally released her, watching as she fell in a heap on the floor. She coughed a bit as she caught her breath. She looked up to glare at him again, but he wasn't in front of her anymore. She clenched her fists, grinding her teeth before leaving to go to her own room to tell a certain animal what had happened.

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Kira left early the next morning, eager to get home. Kina was on her shoulder, purring at the calmness that came before the village woke. The cat stopped purring when she noticed Kira had stopped walking. "_Something wrong?"_

Kira's body began to shake a little as she pointed. Kina looked and jumped off of the shocked ninja's shoulder to walk through the ruins that had been their home. "Who did this?" Kira asked, slowly walking over and sifting through the rubble.

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Gaara watched satisfyingly from a roof as the girl found the few things that had survived his bulldozing. Now all he had to do was make sure every time she rented or bought a home, it was demolished the moment she left.

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Kira gave up on her scavenger hunt and sat in the front yard. She folded her hands behind her head before falling back to lie down. Kina walked over and sat on her stomach. '_Where are we going to go now?'_

Kira thought for awhile before answering. "I don't have enough money to buy another place for long, and the Kazekage won't allow me on any missions until he is satisfied with my info… and you know what happens when I get a normal job."

'_You could, you just can't keep it for longer than three hours…'_

Kira closed her eyes… she had some money in her account to rent a place for about a month. But after that…

Kira's thoughts were interrupted at the sound of footsteps approaching. They stopped and she opened her eyes to stare at a brilliant shade of aquamarine. '_Gaara…?' _she thought, remembering what had happened and frowned.

"What?" she asked, sitting up and petting Kina.

Gaara looked at the rubble for a few moments before turning back to her. "You're room is still open. You may stay there until you have enough money to get a new one." '_Which I will destroy…'_

"What if I don't want to?"

"Do you have a choice?"

She chewed on her tongue for a moment before standing up. "Fine, but it may be awhile. I can't keep a job long enough to get paid, and you won't allow me any missions."

"That will be fine. To pay for your stay, you will help me with my work and help keep the mansion clean." '_You'll do my paperwork at least…'_

Kira sighed, "Fine, you win. I'll come, _master._" She said sarcastically. Gaara liked the sound of that, but turned and began to walk back to his home, Kira's sandals clicking behind him… he liked the sound of that a lot.

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Sweat dripped down Temari's forehead as she dodged to the left. The heat from the fire style jutsu Kira had sent was intense. She swung her fan heavily at the other girl before running to hide behind a sand dune.

Gaara had ordered Temari to spar with Kira so he could watch. Kira had fought Kankuro the day before, losing one and winning the second. Temari had watched, and had thought she had learned all of the girl's techniques, _but_ _no_… Kira hadn't used fire yesterday.

Kira and Kina both made a great team as well. By loaning Kina a bit of extra chakra, the small cat had lit itself on fire. You can picture the shock on Temari's face at the sight of the small cat suddenly turning into a fiery beast.

Temari looked up, with just the right amount of time to dodge the new ball of fire coming at her. She heard Kina give a high pitched meow to Kira. She didn't have to think about what the cat was saying. Whenever the fan wielder tried to hide and prepare a sneak attack, Kina would find her, and Kira would appear out of nowhere with a sneak attack of her own. Temari knew the two were tiring though. Their fire was weakening, and they too were panting for air.

Kira appeared as if from nowhere, her claws ready to strike, from above. Temari yelped in surprise and instinctively raised her arms to block… but the strike never came. Temari peeked from behind her arms to see Kira caught in midair in Gaara's sand.

"Gaara-sama!" came and irritated yell from the suspended ninja, "I wasn't going to hurt her! Put me down!"

Temari gave a faint smile before slowly easing down on the soft sand. It had been about a week since Kira came back the same morning she left. After explaining why she was there, the younger ninja had been surprised when the others were happy to have her back. They even went off to eat at a cozy restaurant for breakfast. There, Gaara, who had surprisingly come along, told the other's how she was going to earn her stay. Kankuro had said that was great, and he had the most perfect idea for when Kira was cleaning. Kira tried to stop him, but the puppet master had raced out before she could grab him. She had a worried look on her face all the way home, and Temari thought she was going to murder her brother when he finally got home.

Kankuro had gone to one of those shops that sold those special maid outfits… and Kankuro had snagged the shortest and sexiest one he could find. What surprised them the most though, was when she tried it on. Gaara said she had to wear it when she cleaned. No excuses. Temari's and Kankuro's mouths had fallen open, giving them the look of a gaping fish.

Temari's smile grew. Maybe her hard, cold hearted brother was finally becoming friendly. Even whenever they visited Konoha, he was only in a better mood for a few days. But with Kira here, he was a bit better. Maybe Naruto's words were finally getting to him...

Her trace of thought was cut off to the sudden stop of complaining from Kira. Temari slightly panicked, looking around to realize Gaara and Kira were gone… and for once the cat wasn't with its partner… maybe Gaara _wasn't_ turning into a friendlier person after all.

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HAHAHA!!! IT'S AN EVIL CLIFFHANGER! So yea, sorry this one took so long. The 2nd chapter was a bit long, so I shortened this one. Since I have a 5 day weekend, the 4th chapter will probably be up _very_ soon. Where did Gaara and Kira go? I have no idea yet. Still writing that part XD. Anyways R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is probably going to be the shortest, but it's a little exciting, so it should satisfy you. XD

ME NO OWN NARUTO

Just this story and my characters. You no steal.

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Kira opened her eyes to see the roof of a cave. She groaned, sitting up. _'What happened? And where am I?'_ The sound of sandals on sand alerted her, causing her to grip one of her kunai.

"Calm down." Gaara's voice came from the location of the sandals.

Kira blinked, her eyes adjusting to the poor lighting. She realized this wasn't a cave, but a large room made completely of sand. Just walls, floor, and a roof. "What's going on?" she asked, standing up.

"I'm going to attack you with my sand. Defend yourself." He said, and without warning shot sand bullets at her. (Too lazy to find name of that jutsu)

Kira, being taken by surprise, took a few hits before finally spinning out of the way, only to have to move again as a wave of sand threatened to swallow her.

'_This is annoying. I'm already low on chakra, and I don't have Kina. My fire is useless against his sand too. My best bet is with a taijutsu…'_

Gaara stood still as Kira stopped playing defense to begin to attack the sand directly while moving slowly towards him. He saw the blue colored chakra around her hands, and realized she was using her chakra to neutralize his control of the sand momentarily. She slowly made progress towards him, but she was drained of almost all of her energy.

Kira's cat-like traits had disappeared, her nails their normal length and her eyes were back to their hazel color as she concentrated solely on her attacks. Her breathing was jagged and her face was dripping with sweat by this time, a few bruises and scratches here and there on her arms and legs, yet she continued to attack. She was soon close enough and began to try to break through the barrier of sand.

Gaara, deciding the fight was done, was about to stop when he felt a small jolt of pain in his side as her fist brushed against him. Pain had a strange affect on him, and he suddenly lashed out at his opponent, knocking her over and against the hard wall of sand. She grunted, collapsing to the floor before sitting up weakly. Gaara walked over, standing over her when he spotted the red liquid on the sand floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kira said, almost yelling at him with a raspy voice. She looked up and glared at him before smirking. Her head had a large gash along the side, blood soaking her hair.

**I wonder what her blood tastes like…**

The sight of Kira's blood seemed to trigger something in Gaara's unstable mind. His sand grabbed Kira, the sight of her wincing only fueling this feeling. His sand absorbed the blood on the floor while he reached up and placed his fingers against her face.

Kira took a sharp breath of air as his fingers stung her wound. She watched in shock as he placed his now bloody fingers to his lips, his tongue flicking out to lick it seductively.

"Gaara?" she asked, biting her lower lip as his sand tightened. She closed her eyes from the intense pain, biting through her lip in the process. She felt something touch her lips, and opened her eyes to see Gaara not too far from her face, sucking on the blood he had taken from her self inflicted wound. When he tried to do it again, she jerked her head back, causing him to frown. "NO GAARA." She said, half sternly, the other half desperately.

Gaara blinked, her words sinking in as his sand released her. He licked the last of the copper tasting liquid from his fingers as the walls and ceilings he had created slowly melted back into the desert. He was slightly surprised that it was sundown already.

He turned to look at the girl, who had fallen but was now standing shakily. "What was that?" she asked, still gasping for air from the sudden release. Gaara didn't answer but walked over to her, the memory of the look on her face still flashing in his mind. _'She wasn't scared…but worried? About what? Her death… or me…?'_

"Gaara, are you ok?" she asked, finally calming herself down. She wasn't going to deny it. She had been worried when Gaara suddenly lashed out at her. But she wasn't only worried for herself, but for him.

Gaara closed his eyes for a few moments before answering. "Yes… stay away from me for a few days."

She nodded, "I understand. We better get back though. There's supposed to be a storm tonight." Seeing him nod, she turned and headed back to Suna.

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Weeeee….really short chapter, I know. But it's a GOOD short chapter….at least I think so. Anyways, R&R please. I'll update again real soon since this one was so short.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Yet again, me no own Naruto. I wouldn't mind that, but the only thing I really own are my characters and meh plot.

Glad you liked the 4th chapter, even if it was short. Please continue to review. Any tips would be welcomed!

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_She opened her eyes, blinking as the sunshine blinded her. Small, chubby fingers rubbed sleep from her eyes._

_The small child looked around. She smiled when she saw a man and a woman, both faceless, calling her name and waving. She laughed, "Mommy, Daddy!" she cried standing up and running towards them._

_Just before she reached them though, the two people burst into flames. Her eyes widened, brimming with tears. She screamed, covering her eyes and turning around. When she opened them again, she found herself in a burning village. She stood still, frozen from shock as the screams of her loved ones filled her ears. A small kitten ran from a burning building, "Run Kira!" and she did… right into the darkness as it laughed, taking her into its clutches._

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Kira gasped, sitting up in bed. "God…I haven't had that dream in awhile." She muttered, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She walked into the bathroom where she stared at herself in the mirror. She sighed, splashing her face with water.

Heading back to bed, she heard a light tapping on her window. If it wasn't for her cat senses, she probably wouldn't have heard it.

She walked over and opened the window, walking out onto the balcony. She had been staying at the Subaku mansion for quite awhile now, so they gave her a nicer room with a balcony. She had told them she didn't need it, but they insisted.

She looked around, seeing that the balcony was empty and sighed, "Must have been the wind." She said, walking to the edge where she rested her elbows on the stone. The moon was still high in the sky, and the stars twinkled beautifully over the great expanse. She gazed up at them, her mind elsewhere until she heard the sound of feet landing behind her. She turned around and bumped her face into someone's chest. '_A strong, muscular chest…_' she thought, before looking up and catching the sight of aquamarine and red.

"Jeez Gaara-sama… don't sneak up on me like that." She said, taking a step back.

After their little 'incident', Kira had avoided Gaara for a little over a week. She then began to work around the house like she had promised, and could feel his eyes as she wore the evil maid outfit Kankuro had bought her. But his gaze had amusement in it.

She also did most of his paperwork, and wondered how he could stay sane with all of that signing and filing and signing and filing… but then again the Kazekage wasn't all that sane.

Little did she knew that Gaara still the incident fresh in his mind. He liked the taste of her blood… her scent… but he didn't like liking that. He wanted to be rid of it, but knew the only way was to get rid of her. And for some reason, the thought of getting rid of her only made him angry.

"You screamed earlier." He said, turning so he could look across the village.

She waited for a few moments before answering, "I just had a nightmare is all. Don't worry about it though, I'm sorry if I caused you concern."

"Hn." He said before turning to look at her. She had walked beside him and was back to gazing at the stars.

"There are so many… and the moon. For some reason, it seems sad to me."

Gaara didn't say anything in return. She was used to that now, for whenever she came into the office it was usually a one-sided conversation. He found it annoying at first, but after awhile he began to listen. He didn't know she only talked because she hated it when it was quiet. There is only quiet when there is no one there.

Gaara felt something warm on top and his head and tensed. He knew it wasn't Kina, who seemed to have found him a comfy chair, because it was the shape of a hand and not a set of paws. He turned and saw Kira looking up at his hair. "What are you doing?" he asked coldly.

She removed her hand, flicking something over the edge. "Calm down. You had something on your head… wait a second… your sand didn't block me!"

Gaara blinked. His sand always protected him from others, even when someone just bumped into him. Kira kept her shocked face as she reached over to poke him, but he snatched her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Don't even try it." He ordered. Her hands were cold inside his warm hands. He suddenly realized she was wearing a thin, silk night robe that merely clung to her like a second skin. She was shivering slightly from the desert night's cold. The feeling that he had come to hate and find strange returned as she pouted, "I was just seeing if your sand would stop me again."

He frowned, releasing her hand which she pulled in to hug herself to warm herself. She still shivered though. "Are you cold?" he asked.

She gave a small nod, "Yes, I never seem to get used to the cold. I love the cold, but I can't take it very well."

"Go inside then."

"I'm fine. Besides, I'd rather stay out here with you, Gaara-sama. Is that ok?"

He seemed to think before slowly nodding his head. "We can go inside then." He said, turning and walking into her room. She followed, welcoming the warm air happily.

He looked around, seeing that she had moved some of the furniture around to suite her liking. He walked over to the desk, and saw something poking out of a drawer. He checked to see that Kira wasn't paying attention to him before pulling it out.

'_A drawing… of me?_' he flipped the paper around, seeing what looked to be notes to a song. He turned it back over and examined the drawing. It was a very detailed sketch. He looked at the notes again, but before he could try to figure out how it might sound, she snatched it from him, a light shade of pink over her nose and along her cheeks, which didn't make her frown and glare very intimidating. "Gaara-sama, haven't you learned not to go through some one else's belongings?"

He stared at the paper she was holding and held his hand out. "Let me see it."

She objected at first, but when he growled at her warningly she handed it back to him. "I have a drawing of everyone. It's something I do when I'm troubled."

He flipped the paper to look at the song. "It's not finished."

She nodded, "I know. I love music, look." She opened a drawer and took out a flute. "Everyone needs a hobby, so mine is writing music and drawing."

"Why did you draw me?"

She lowered her gaze to look at her feet. "I started drawing that right after you attacked me. I found that by drawing, I'm able to understand what or whom I'm drawing better."

Gaara looked at the picture, realizing that the Gaara in there was the blood lusting one that she had seen that day he had attacked her. He frowned, "Is this what I look like to you?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head furiously, "No! That's just…look." She said, snatching the paper and stuffing the paper back in the drawer. He managed to glimpse other drawings and music sheets…taking note to study them when she wasn't home. "I was confused, so I drew what I was confused about." She said, and took a deep breath. '_Nobody's supposed to see those! And of all the people to find them why did it have to be Gaara!_' her mind was spinning, so she didn't feel the warm hand running down her back until it stopped to race upwards. '_What in the-?'_ she turned her head, catching Gaara's eyes for a moment. '_He's thinking… but about what?'_

'_She's still cold… ad why is she freaking out over drawings and music? That feeling… it's coming back. I don't like. I don't need… but I like it. Is it love? NO! I only love myself! I have to get rid of her_.' He looked at Kira, who had confusion written clearly on her face. "Gaara?" she asked, seeing his gourd open as sound fell out. '_Not again!_' she thought, taking a step back. "Gaara, what's wrong? What did I do?"

"Your existence is threatening my existence." He said, sand striking out and gripping her arms. She grunted, tugging at the sand and managing to release herself before turning around and racing out the window and off the balcony. _'What does he mean? My existence… is he going to kill me?'_

The thought of her own death made her shiver even more as she raced along the rooftops. '_I can't run forever… but I can't die now. There is someone I have to find.'_

She stopped, panting as she looked around. She had left Suna and was a few hundred yards from the gates now. 'If only I hadn't taken Kina to the vet…' she thought, before sand suddenly came up and swallowed her. She gasped, trying to regain the air she had lost, only to get a mouthful of sand. "No!" she cried, "I can't die! I won't die! Not now!"

Gaara watched as the girl fought against his never ending current of sand. The feeling in his chest and stomach began to hurt, causing him to stop. She raised her head, eyes filled with anger and pain. "Gaara, why are you doing this?"

He walked over to her, fingers touching a small cut along the side of her face. He placed them in his mouth, then removed them and placed them on his chest. "There's a pain here… and a funny feeling. I don't want it. It only comes when you're here."

She tugged on her arms until one of them was free. "Come here." He took a step back and shook his head. "Gaara, please come here." He hesitated before shaking his head again. "Please…" He stared at her for what seemed like hours before walking up to her. She opened her hand and held it a few inches over his chest. "Why do you think you have pain here?"

"I only love myself."

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you answering my question?" He stared at her. "So you hurt yourself by only loving yourself?"

His eyes widened, but it was too quick for anyone to see. "Gaara, why do you only love yourself?"

"To be strong."

"So by loving someone you are weak?"

He thought about this question, remembering the fight he had had against Naruto during the exams. "Not always."

"How so?" she asked, hand still hovering above his chest. He grabbed her hand lightly, simply holding it.

"I fought a ninja in Konoha. Because his… friends… were in trouble, he defeated me. He told me that by having friends, he found his purpose and became stronger."

She smiled faintly, "Am I your friend, Gaara?"

His sand lowered, releasing her and gently placing her on the ground. "Yes, you are my…friend."

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Nyah! Fifth chapter is pretty! -Hangs it up-

I already have some of chapter 6 written, so that'll be up soon! School exams are coming up soon though, and research papers are evil! -- so I dunno how long it will be to update when that time comes. We'll just have to wait and see! R&R!!!


	6. Chapter 6

Heheh… sorry took so long to update. But I did warn you guys that exams were coming up. High school is brutal during exam week. But I got my research paper done, so I can update a LITTLE bit faster now.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews. If you have any suggestions or comments, I'm all ears! I want to write what you want to read! Well… sort of. Gaara isn't going to go all soft that easily. XD Enjoy chapter 6!

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She had no idea what sort of impact her words had on Gaara, and at first she found his new behavior and attitude a little… off. He even began to speak more than six words at a time! Something she thought wasn't possible.

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_Flashback_

_Kira was with Gaara in his office. She was cleaning it, AGAIN. "Gaara, I swear, does your gourd leak sand ALL the time?"_

"_No."_

"_Sure doesn't seem that way. I have to sweep in here every day!"_

"_Stop complaining."_

_She frowned, finally finishing her daily cleaning. She placed her hands on her hips as she inspected his office, pausing when she realized he had been watching her._

"_What?" she asked, tugging down on the annoying maid outfit._

_He shook his head and went back to his paperwork. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to him. She peered over his shoulder to scan the papers. "What?" he said, turning his head slightly._

"_I thought you hated paperwork."_

"_I do."_

"_Here, gimme some and I'll help, but you have to come with me to get something to eat afterwards."_

_He thought for a few moments before splitting the pile and giving her half. She took it and a pen and stamp, grabbing a chair before sitting down. She had to stand up again to tuck in the stupid dress though before she was able to work comfortably in silence._

_Half an hour later, Kira finished her pile. "I'm going to change. There's no way I'm going out in public with this thing on." She muttered and left. Gaara only had a bit more to do anyways._

_Ten minutes later, they were outside and heading towards the food plaza. She noticed the stares they were receiving and checked to make sure she wasn't wearing anything strange. Nope, she was wearing her usual clothes, not a stitch out of place. She looked at Gaara, who was walking as if nothing was wrong. She was confused, but if he was fine, she had nothing to worry about either. _

_They found a nice place to eat, and Kira began to talk to him. As usual, he only answered with a few words or a shake or nod of his head._

_On the way back, something unusual happened. Kira had spotted something sparkling on the road, and when she bent over to pick it up, a long whistle with a, 'Hey baby, why don't you bend over a little more.' was heard._

_She immediately snapped back up; face red but eyes blazing anger. Just before she could turn around and beat the pervert into oblivion, Gaara's sand shot out and snatched the man._

_The accused screamed, begging for mercy as the grip the sand had around him strengthened. Kira panicked, "Gaara, don't KILL him."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because whistling at me and being a pervert isn't illegal and doesn't mean he should die." She replied, her voice showing she meant it and wasn't in the mood for arguing._

_By now, a small crowd had gathered to watch, wide eyed at the rare spectacle. They almost fainted from shock when they saw Gaara frown, death glaring the man as he released him. "Get out of here." He growled._

_The man's eyes became full of hatred before h raced off, screaming insults and obesities at Kira. He was too frightened of Gaara to insult him._

"_And that's the thanks I get for saving his sorry ass…" she muttered before turning around and making her way out of the crowd to head back to the mansion. Gaara easily caught up, since the people cleared the way for him quickly. His face was still angry from what had happened._

"_Why did you do that?" he asked._

"_Well, it was a pretty rock and-"_

"_Not that. Why did you stop me?"_

"_Oh, because you didn't have to kill him. I've had enough innocent blood shed because of me already. I don't need any more."_

'_Innocent blood already?' Gaara thought, glancing over to her._

"_Besides, you're the Kazekage, who knows what would have happened if you started randomly killing people."_

_They had reached the mansion yet, and were walking towards the door. "He shouldn't have done that."_

"_But he did, and there are hundreds of other people who are like him. That's still no reason to kill them."_

"_What would you have done? Gone over there and yelled at him? I doubt he would have listened. He would be too busy thinking about God knows what."_

_She stopped suddenly, halfway through the door. "Say that again."_

_He turned around and crossed his arms in front of his chest before repeating his words. He watched her, confused, as she counted something on her fingers. "26, 27, 28…28…"_

"_28 what?"_

"_Your said twenty eight words at one time!" she exclaimed, arms flaring as her eyes widened. "That's a miracle?"_

"_How?"_

_She stopped, entering the mansion with a smile on her face. "I haven't heard you say more than six words at a time in one go. I was beginning to think it was impossible."_

_He shook his head, leaving her alone while she gave herself a mini celebration for her amazing feat._

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Kira also, having not been on a mission in weeks, decided to see if she could use this new friendship to her advantage. She picked up Kina, who was waiting for her by his office door.

Gaara was sitting comfortably at his desk, learning back with his eyes closed. She knew he wasn't sleeping, but knocked on his door lightly before entering anyways.

He opened his eyes, "What do you want?" he asked, blinking and rubbing them.

She shut the door behind her, Kina jumping from her arms and hopping on the desk. She sprawled on the papers, making sure her soft, warm belly was facing him. He frowned, but reached over and petted the soft fur.

"Gaara-sama," she said, sitting down on the chair. "Could you give me a mission, please?"

"No."

"Please Gaara, just one teeny, tiny mission. You should have enough on me to allow me to go on one. I'll even get Kankuro or Temari to find me one so you won't have to do anything."

He stroked the cat a few times as he considered it. "Will you be taking Kina?"

"Of course."

"Then that will be fine."

"Thank you, Gaara." She said happily, standing up and giving a small bow before taking the small cat. "Oh, and please don't trash the place while I'm gone."

He snorted, "I'll be sure to make it very messy so you won't be able to go on another mission for a _long_ time."

She frowned, "You're sooo evil." She muttered sarcastically and left, turning to head towards Kankuro's 'workshop'. He was in there often, adding various weapons to or creating new puppets. She tapped on the door lightly, hearing a muffled "Come in."

She entered, wincing at the sight of the incredible mess. Wood, nails, and sawdust littered the floor. If Kankuro were to wear brown instead of black, he would camouflage perfectly with the room. The walls were white, but had so many different blue prints and design papers hanging around and so many shelves that it was hard to tell. Some of the shelves were even knocked at a 45 degree angle, holding up only because of a block of wood or some poor puppet kept them propped up against the wall.

"Kuro-kun?" she called, using the pointless nickname she had given him. He hated it, but knew Kira wasn't the ninja to get angry.

"What?" he asked, brushing sawdust from his black clothing.

She glanced around, looking for a clear path to enter. "One of these days I'm going to come in here and organize this."

"I told you, I don't want it organized."

She sneezed, "Too bad." She stated before waving her hand lazily in the air. "Anyways, I need a mission. Can I have one of yours?"

He seemed confused, "I thought Gaara said you weren't allowed to go on any."

"I finally got him to allow me to go on one. He said to make it a long and hard one. Apparently, I need to get out for a little while."

"What have you done to him?"

"I don't know, but he's only changed a bit." She smiled, "Maybe I can get him to smile!"

"He only smiles when he's killing someone…"

"Well I'll get him to smile because of a joke or something."

"Good luck with that." He muttered, reaching into his pocket and taking out a scroll. He scanned it. "Ok, this one should be fine." He tossed it to her, "Take Kina with you. I don't want him killing me if you get hurt."

"I'll be fine, and I already told him I was taking her. Hell, I swear you people think Kina is more reliable than me!"

He shrugged before walking over and shooing her away, "Not my problem, now go! I have work to do."

"Good luck playing with your puppets. Make a girl one… you'd probably have more fun with her since you can't seem to get a real one."

"Shut up!" he yelled before slamming the door behind her.

She grinned slyly. "Well Kina, it worked. Good thing I asked Kankuro instead of Temari. She probably would have asked Gaara-kun. Come on, let's grab our things and leave before Gaara changes his mind."

"_Yes! I've been waiting forever to get out."_

"This will be payback for making me wear that stupid, slutty maid outfit."

"_Let's go then!"_

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Nyah! XD R&R pretty please!


	7. Chapter 7

So sorry it took so long. But I'll comment at the end. I don't know how impatient you people are… I've just been a lazy person with my new stuff.

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"What the hell did you do?!" yelled Gaara, sand picking up a chair and hurtling it at Kankuro.

Kankuro winced, ducking but was still hit by the leg of the chair, giving him a large bump on the head. "She told me you _wanted_ her to go on a long mission!' he defended, dodging to the side as a pencil holder was thrown at him.

"You believed her?"

"Well…yeah. Why shouldn't I?"

"She's been begging for a hard mission, you should have known she was lying."

"Gaara, calm down!" Temari yelled, walking into the room and placing her hands on her hips. Gaara stopped, desk held in midair by his sand, breathing heavily.

"Apparently, Kira knew you two would kill each other over this. She also seemed to know that Kankuro would be stupid enough to give her a hard mission without making sure it was okay. So, instead of killing each other, you should save your anger for when she gets back."

Gaara's sand began to place everything back into its original place, "But she's been gone for almost a week." He growled.

"Yes but," she reached into her pocket and tossed him a small scroll. "It's a letter from her. Mission was successful, and she should be back tonight or tomorrow morning. She's a jounin, Gaara. She can do this mission fine."

He gave a small nod, "Leave." He ordered.

Kankuro, seeing this as an opportunity of salvation, left in a heart beat. Temari lingered back for a few moments though. "Gaara… you seem to be getting attached to Kira."

He simply stared at her impassively.

"Well, make sure you don't hurt yourself. And don't hurt her either. I've heard a few stories about her around town." She winked, "Also, people are saying you have a lover. So might want to get that settled." She said, slipping away before he could react or throw something.

'_A… lover?'_

'**I THOUGHT YOU ONLY LOVED YOURSELF'**

'_Shut up, demon.'_

'**NO, JUST WAIT. THE NEXT TIME YOU GO TO SLEEP, I'LL-'**

'_You'll do nothing.'_

'**I'LL KILL THAT GIRL, SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY. THEN SHE CAN SEE YOU FOR THE MONSTER YOU ARE BEFORE SHE DIES.'**

'_You're the monster Shukaku, and she's mine. You will not touch her.'_

'**SHE'S _YOURS?'_**Gaara cursed inwardly, causing the demon to laugh. **'SO YOUR SISTER WASN'T LYING! REMEMBER, I KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU TICK. REMEMBER THAT LOOK SHE GAVE YOU? THE ONE THAT SENT SHIVERS DOWN YOUR SPINE? JUST THINK ABOUT IT.'**

Gaara shook his head, pushing the demons voice to the depths of his mind. 'I cannot allow that…but I can't hurt her either. She's my…. friend. If Naruto can protect his friends, I'll protect mine.' With that settled, Gaara put on his Kazekage clothing and hat before heading downstairs for a meeting.

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It was around three or four in the morning when Kira and Kina arrived at the gates of Suna. After the ninjas at there saw that she was coming back from a mission, she was on her way back to the mansion.

"Do you think Gaara's still mad? I don't want him attacking me again."

'_He's probably pissed. But we've been gone long enough that he should be safe.'_ Replied Kina.

"You don't think he killed Kankuro, do you?"

'_I doubt it. Temari probably saved him and a mess for you.'_

"If it comes to that, I'll have to thank her."

They had been traveling by rooftop, and had finally reached her balcony. She hopped down, listening to see if Gaara was near. When she heard nothing, she shrugged and walked inside.

Gaara was standing at the desk, looking at something. She frowned, walking over to him. "What did I say about going through me st-?"

She stopped when his sand grabbed her legs and held her in place. "Gaara… you don't need the sand. I'm not going anywhere any time soon." She waited until his sand had returned to his gourd before speaking again. "There's a reason I don't want people going through those!" she stood on her tip toes and peered around his shoulder. "Gimme that!" she yelled, snatching the article of paper from him.

He glared at her, turning so that he towered over her. "That wasn't a 'teeny tiny' mission."

She had to stifle a laugh at the use of 'teeny tiny.' "Kankuro gave it to me, blame him."

"He told me that you told him that I told you" he paused to make sure he had said that correctly, "To give you a hard mission. Look at yourself."

"Dimmit, Gaara! I'm a jounin, a _JOUNIN_! I can take care of a mission fine."

"Then why are you covered in blood?"

"It is the blood of my enemies," She growled, "And my injuries are not fatal, a few scratches that will heal in a few days."

He stood there, a stoic expression on his face. She sighed, running a hand through her curly gold locks. "Lemme shower first." She muttered before taking off her kunai pouch and elbow blades, placing them near the nightstand. Gaara watched her as she grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a shirt before she disappeared in the bathroom.

Ten minutes later she exited, hair dripping as she began to pull a brush through it. He could smell the soap and shampoo she had used, and found it smelled like flowers, probably expensive since most of the flower scented shampoos came from Konoha. _'Her hair isn't curly when it's wet? It's longer when it's not up… why am I thinking this?'_

She sat on her bed, opening a drawer in the nightstand and taking out a small med kit. She had a few cuts and scrapes on her shoulder, and her hands were bloodied up as well now that she had no gloves on.

"I said to go on a short, easy mission. You took an entire week for a B class mission, which was only lowered because Kankuro is too lazy try anything difficult."

"I handled it fine, and the mission was successful. That's all that's important."

"What if the mission failed?"

"What is wrong with you Gaara?" she said, finishing the last bandage and throwing a pillow at him. "Before you saved me, before you knew I even existed I was allowed to go on B class missions, A class sometimes, whatever they felt they needed me in! It didn't matter how empty my file was then!"

He ignored her, "You didn't do as I told you to."

Kina gave a warning meow to Kira as she stood up and walked up to him. She looked up into his cold aquamarine eyes. "Tell me why I am being treated like this." She growled. Kina gave up, she knew Kira was known to have a short temper, but even so, Gaara wasn't always calm and collected either.

'_Because you're mine and I'm not going to let anyone else have you.'_ He thought as he stared into her dark eyes. "How do you want to be treated?"

"Fairly. Like I used to be treated, but not ignored. I want missions that aren't genin or chuunin, and for you three to stop treating me like I child." She sighed, "I'm just about the same age as you, and have lived by myself since I was eight." She turned around and fell back onto her bed. "I can take care of myself. I'm tired though, I'll hand in my mission scroll at the mission office in the morning."

He stared at her for a few minutes before walking to the door where he paused. "Don't defy me again." He warned before leaving.

She sighed, rolling on her side before taking out the drawing he had been looking at. It was a drawing of a young girl…running towards her faceless family.

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Kina yawned and stretched as she waited for her turn at the Missions Office.

The winter festival was coming up, and Temari had dragged her partner away for some clothes shopping. Kira had never really participated in the festival yet, so Temari made it her mission to force the small ninja to participate and have fun. The problem was that she'd have to find a date. Most of the activities and celebrations required two people.

Kina, you haven't figured it out yet, is a very unique cat, who loves to trick and confuse her partner. _'I wonder if I can get the Kazekage jealous._' She thought as she entered the office and handed the scroll to a confused ninja. _'I think I can… I just have to find her old teammate or someone she graduated with.'_

She left the missions office, slipping through the door to search for any bachelors to use in her scheme.

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"Temari… I only need one."

"What?" Temari asked as she threw another outfit at Kira. The littler ninja couldn't see over the mass of cloth in her arms anymore, and the weight was becoming a little heavier as her arms tired.

"I said I only need one."

"Ok, head to the back and start trying them on… I'll see if I can find anymore."

"No, I said, gah… never mind." She muttered before heading to the dressing rooms. A lady monitoring them stopped her though. "Only ten items at a time."

Temari appeared before Kira could throw a fit and throw the huge pile at the annoying woman. "Mizu, you never told me only ten items at a time before."

The woman, Mizu blinked, "Oh, Temari! Is she with you?"

"_Yeees_."

"Then that's fine. Take as many as you like… wait, is this the girl who I've heard abou-" Before Mizu could finish Temari had shoved her aside and dragged the staggering Kira to the largest room. '_Thank God_… _wait… what was she saying?_' Kira thought.

Temari began to take the kimonos from the grateful ninja, sorting them out by their colors first. "We need winter colors… or something like that."

"Red is one of the festival colors, right?"

"Yes, it is. You can pick out yours if you like. Now start trying them on!"

Kira frowned, scanning over the clothes. A certain one caught her eye and she grinned, making sure Temari wasn't looking before snatching it. "I can't change in here with so many things lying around. I'll be in the one across the hall." She said before taking three more randomly. '_That should suffice. Man I hate shopping.'_

After trying on the kimono she had taken, she waited a few minutes before she figured it was long enough and returned to the large, yet overflowing, dressing room of Temari's. The older ninja had finally figured out what kind of kimono she wanted to wear and was looking at her reflection in the mirror. "Does this one look good? I like it a lot." She asked as she turned to Kira.

Kira tilted her head to the side. '_Does she always wear something purple?_' she thought. The kimono Temari had on was white with purple flowers on it. She looked around, taking hold of a silky blue and silver kimono. "Try this one on. It matches your eyes." She said, tossing it to her.

Temari nodded, and began to try it on. "Did you find the one you wanted?"

"Yes, I did. I'm buying another though so I'll have two."

"Can I see them?"

"No."

"Why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want it to be a surprise. You'll see it when we help each other get ready."

"Who are you going with?"

"No idea, but I don't really care if I go with someone or not. Who are you going with?"

"I invited a ninja from Konoha to come. He and a few others will come to strengthen the bond between our villages." Temari finished putting the kimono on and looked at herself in the mirror. "My, Kira, I had no idea you had such a fashion sense."

"I don't. I just thought something other than purple would be nice."

"Hey! Well, whatever." she replied, taking off the kimono and putting her own clothes back on. "Let's get these and grab something to eat then."

"About time, we've been here for _hours._" She replied with a smirk, taking her two kimonos and Temari's before heading to the counter. But a person with a huge load of clothes that rivaled her own accidently bumped into her, knocking them both down and throwing dozens of kimonos, obis, and yukatas all over the floor.

The person who had bumped into her was a man. "Yu?"

Yu rubbed his head in embarrassment. "I'm so sorr-?" he stopped when he recognized her. "…Kira?"

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HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I love my cliffhangers. Sorry it took so long to update. I've had this written, but was too lazy to type it. (I like to handwrite it first so there aren't any critical errors.) I hope you all had a great Christmas! I did, and I have everything I wanted. My best friend even got me a Gaara plushie, which is so huggable and cute I can't go anywhere around the house without him. Some high schooler I am…. Carrying around a stuffed person. Lol, oh well.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I decided to make a sequel once Haunted is over since people appear to like it so much. Why I named it haunted is still a mystery to me… maybe because it sounded cool to me.

Who is this Yu person? What is the kitty donkey, Kina plotting? Well, you'll have to wait till I get back in town after new years to find out!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I hate these things. But yeah, I dont own Naruto.

I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing really quickly. . I'm always happy to find more reviews, and I'm a little surprised at the number of people who like it. Thank you for the reviews, its fun reading them.

but yeah, school is back. I have it pretty easy so far, but I dont know how long that will last. This story will continue though. I'm not the type to start something and not finish. But enough rambling, on to the fanfic!

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"Kira? Wow! How are you?" Yu asked, beginning to pick up the clothing.

"I'm fine. What are you doing in here?'

"Oh, these just came in." he saw her expression and decided it was better to elaborate. "The store worker asked me to help him bring in their new shipping."

"For a second there I though you worked here."

He laughed, "No, just walking through. I thought I saw Kina, but I guess not."

"Kina? She supposed to be at the Missions office…"

"Kira, who's this?" Temari asked, walking up to them.

"Oh, Yu this is Temari. Temari, Yu. I'm staying with her and her brothers until I can buy my own apartment again. Temari, Yu is my old teammate."

Yu picked up the last of the clothing, placing them on the counter before inclining his head. "I know who she is. She's the sister of the Kazekage. Wait, you're staying at the Kazekage's mansion?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Nope," he answered quickly, "So, are you the one I've been hearing rumors about?"

"Rumors?" she questioned, looking at Temari.

Temari frowned, pushing her friend towards the counter. "Forget that. Let's pay and grab something to eat." She looked at Yu. He was tall with a muscular form, but not too muscular. He had sky blue eyes and short, spiky brown hair. '_Not too bad.'_ She thought. "You can join us if you'd like."

He grinned, "That'll be great. I was going to get something to eat anyways."

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Gaara walked through the busy streets of his village. To say he was in a sour mood would be an understatement, having just gotten finished with a boring morning of meetings, only to look forward to more work when he got back. Not to mention Shukaku's never ending torment in his mind.

His stomach growled, telling him he needed food. He had skipped dinner the other night, and was rushed away to those damn meeting that morning so he didn't get a chance to take anything to eat.

He turned, stopping when he saw Kira and Temari with a man as they ate. Kira was sitting in the middle, smiling as the man talked to her. He felt something in his chest ache, and began to walk.

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"So what are you doing for the Winter Festival?" Yu asked the two girls.

Temari was the one to answer, "I'm going with a friend from Konoha. Kira is going-"

"By force."

"But she hasn't found a date yet." She finished with a glare towards the shorter of them.

"Haven't even really looked," Kira shrugged, "I've never gone before, so I don't really care. Are you going?"

"Yep."

"With Mei?"

"No. Hopefully I'll be going with you."

"She's not going with you." A cold voice said, startling the trio.

"Gaara? What are you doing here?" Temari asked as she moved down a seat. He placed his gourd down and sat in her old seat.

"I just got done with a meeting. I'm hungry." He replied, glancing at the waitress. He had been there a few times, so she knew what he wanted.

Yu was getting the feeling that he was in a bit of danger as Gaara glared at him with an intention of murder when Kira wasn't looking.

"Why can't I go with him?"

"Because you're going with someone else."

"Oh really, and who is that?"

"…" he seemed to think for a few moments, "Me."

"But you haven't even asked-"

"I don't have to ask."

"You're such an idiot." She muttered, turning to her old teammate. "Don't mind him, I'll go with you."

Yu gave an uneasy smile, "If you say so. I gotta get going though. I have to go find Mei."

"Why?" she asked, voice and attitude suddenly cold.

"Because she asked me to. She _is_ our old teammate. She's probably just going to tell me how much better her new boyfriend is compared to how I was."

"Pfft. Useless wench." Kira muttered as he left before standing up herself. "I'm going to find Kina. I'll see you guys later." She said before grabbing her bag and walking away.

Temari glanced at her brother, "Jealous."

He simply glared at her for a moment before beginning to eat.

"I see… you're not going to kill him, are you?"

"No."

"Good."

"Just put him in a coma."

"Gaara!"

"What?"

"Don't hurt him, he's Kira's _friend_. Nothing more."

"Hn." He said, eating the last of his food.

"Well, you might want to do something if you want her to go with you instead of Yu."

"She's not going with me."

"But you just-"

"She's not going with me _yet_… Don't forget. Apparently I'm the spoiled one who always gets what he wants." He cut her off before placing his gourd on his back. He placed money to pay for all of them and walked away.

"Kira, good luck." Temari muttered, smiling when she remembered who she was escorting to the festival herself. "You're going to need it. All of it."

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"**Ha ha she hates you!"**

"Damn it demon, you've said that how many times?"

"**She hates you now, and I didn't even do anything!"**

"Shukaku, we both know she doesn't hate me. She's just angry."

Gaara was sitting in his office. He had come home and locked himself in there. Kira didn't come back until late, and seemed to be in a cheery mood. Gaara had listened in on her short conversation with Temari, finding out she was going with The Bastard.( A new appointed name since he didn't find out The Bastard's real one) She was now heading up to his office, not to apologize, but to do her daily cleaning.

"Where's your maid clothing?"

"Dry cleaner."

"Hn." He said, taking the silence gratefully. He made it look like he was working, but and argument with Shukaku took too much concentration for him to get any done. He didn't even notice that she had come up behind him.

"Gaara?"

If he hadn't been a ninja, or himself, he probably would have jumped in surprise. "What?" he asked, surprisingly cold to him.

She winced slightly at his tone, "You seem troubled, mind telling me about it?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the desk.

"Yes."

"I can change that so I'm not asking, but demanding that you tell me."

He glared at her, standing up. She glared back as she stood up as well. Gaara wasn't a tall man, but compared to Kira, he was pretty tall. "Are you _ordering_ me around?"

She narrowed her eyes, "No, I'm demanding you tell me what's troubling you."

He snorted, "Like I'm going to tell you." He said in that cold hearted voice others had come to fear.

"Damn it, Gaara! I'm asking you because I care, now please tell me!'

"You care?" he said, giving a small maniacal laugh, "Since when did people start caring?"

She frowned again, clenching her fists before suddenly hanging her head and allowing her arms to fall limp by her sides. "Fine." She said and handed him a piece of paper. "You're not a monster, by the way. I drew this, since you seem to be so interested in my drawings. It's a gift." And she left.

He blinked, confused on what had just occurred before looking at the paper. His eyes widened slightly at a drawing of him. This one, though, made him look calm, almost sad. It seemed to take place at sunrise, causing him to realize that she must have drawn it while they were up on the roof without his notice.

In the drawing, he was sitting on top of his gourd with his arms crossed in from of his chest. An invisible wind was ruffling his hair. She had even colored the drawing with ink pastels. He flipped it over to see if there were any music notes, but found a small message.

'_Life is love. If you live life without love, then you might as well not live life at all. You're not alone, Gaara. You have friends.' _

He frowned before placing the paper away. '_She's even more confusing than Kankuro…'_

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Kina hopped on Kira's lap, running her tail under her chin. _"What's wrong?'_

She shook her head. "I'm just worried about our Kazekage."

"_Really?"_

"He won't tell me what's wrong, and I have a feeling that I'm the cause for it. I just seem to irritate him." Kira replied as she stood up and headed outside towards the training grounds.

'_He's an angry person…?"_

"Haha, well at least I can go to the festival with Yu."

"_We both know he only asked you to get back at Mei."_

"I don't mind getting her angry. Besides, if they get back together, then I can get back to acting as though I don't know them."

"_Why do you hate her so much?"_

"She did something not so nice."

"_And that was?"_

Kira placed the cat on the ground as she began to stretch for her training. "I'll tell you later."

Kina replied with an angry meow leaving_. 'He may have a troubled past and a short temper, but even one who claims they only love themselves are able to change. He's just…shy? He would probably never admit it, but he probably is. All I have to do is get him past that little hill.' _The cat decided as she entered the mansion again and went into his office.

He was still standing where they had left him, staring out a window. She gave a meow, causing him to snap back into reality. He sighed, kneeling down and holding out his hand. Kina complied and walked over to nuzzle her head into his awaiting hand.

"Don't think I'm going to tell you anything." He suddenly said. Kina gave a questioning tilt of the head as she looked up at him. "I might not be able to understand your language, but I know you understand mine. I'm not going to allow you to tell Kira anything I say."

Kina cursed inwardly as she hopped on his desk. It looked like she was going to have to do this the hard way. She would have to see how he reacted to Kira going with Yu and formulate a plan from scratch. But whatever it was, it would have to be on the day of the festival. And of course, have plenty of arguing and action. She liked seeing humans fight. They were always interesting.

Kina found the ink bottle and dipped her tail in before scribbling something on a blank paper. Gaara walked over to look at it. "Fun ruiner? Are people's emotions and secrets fun to play with, you strange and rare cat." She wrote one word. "Yes…you're more evil than I am." Kina gave a happy meow. "You're welcome." He replied, figuring out what she was saying on his own before reading the next message. "You're…not…evil…" he read aloud before shaking his head. "I was, now I'm just insane." He muttered, sitting down.

Kina wiped her tail off on the paper_. 'This guy is more trouble than the Yu teammate. If only he wasn't so god damn stubborn. Oh well, makes it more fun for me!'_

Gaara watched as the small cat began to look for something on his desk. She seemed to find what she was looking for as she picked it up and dropped it on his lap before leaving.

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Ok, chapter done. I'll have the ninth up ASAP! R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

IM SOOOO SORRY!!!! I know I haven't updated in a long while, but I've been super busy. Track started, and I dont get home till about 6:30 or 7. Then I have hours of homework and dinner. Then bed so that I can survive the next day. But here is the ninth chapter. No, no action in this one. Sorry, but there is a major part that you have to be alert about.

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'_I love myself and fight only for myself. But by doing so, I hurt myself. The pain in my heart is from living for my self. Naruto said by helping others you become stronger, and now Kira is saying that you hurt yourself by only loving yourself.'_

"**Stop that."**

'_Don't tell me what to do.'_

"**Is that a threat?"**

'…'

"**I thought so."**

'_I hate you.'_

"**I love me too."**

'_Damn it, demon, go away.'_

Shukaku just laughed, **"And spoil my fun? I liked you better when you thought I was your mother."**

'_Shut up.'_

"**I'm having fun, though. I bet you don't even know why you're so vulnerable."**

'_I said shut up!'_

"**It's your thoughts, you think too much of her."** Gaara shook his head as he walked into his room. **"What are you doing?"**

'_I'm going to take a bath. Is that a problem?'_

"**No."**

Gaara frowned as he walked into his private bath. It was grand, but wasn't spotless, an indication that Kira hadn't come in to clean yet. He stripped down out of the layers of clothing before turning on the hot water. After it was filled, he slid in so that he was completely submerged.

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"I wonder if Gaara's cooled down a bit." Kira mumbled as she entered his room. It was the easiest one for her to clean, due to the fact that he never slept. There was a single dresser, a full body mirror, and a strangely elegantly made bed. The colors were, of course, crimson and black.

As she entered the room, she didn't notice the lights on behind the private bath as she began to look around for any places that might need dusting. She had finally talked the others into allowing her to wear what she wanted while cleaning. Kankuro had taken the maid's outfit and put it in his closet. He had told them it was to be saved in case she needed to be punished for doing something wrong. They all doubted it, but were too afraid to ask what on earth he would want with it.

She was picking up some clothes when she heard a door open behind her. She instinctively turned around, hand to her kunai pouch, but stopped when she saw Gaara with only a towel wrapped around his waist as another he was using to rub his hair dry. She paused, eyes scanning his well toned and pale skinned body before she saw him realize she was there. He stared at her for a moment before walking over to his dresser and beginning to look around for something to wear.

Kira went back to her chore, watching him carefully out of the corner of her eye until he disappeared back into the bathroom. She felt the heat rise on her face and cursed inwardly at her own foolishness.

Sure, they were both outcasts. But he was an emotional wreck, having almost killed her already more than twice. She wasn't going lie to herself; she was in love with the red head. But she was a ninja, he the Kazekage. He could have ANYBODY that he wanted in the village. She even often teased him with the piles of fan girl, and sometimes fan guy, mail that he received. She wasn't ugly, that she knew. But beautiful was a word that she had never heard someone describe her as. Maybe strange, distant, or short, but never was she described as anything with beauty. Not that she cared, though. She was a shinobi. She was a kunoichi. She didn't have time to spend an hour in the bathroom to 'do her hair' and didn't want to spend money on cosmetics. She did steal mascara from Temari, but that was all that she really ever used.

Why was she even thinking this? She sounded like a love sick school girl. Oh god, she was becoming something she despised.

'_Bad Kira, bad!'_

Seeing that the cleaning of his room was done, she sat down on his bed to wait for him to come out so she could pick up after him. '_I'm like they're freaking mother_.' She thought with a small smile as she lay back on the bed. For someone who never slept, Gaara's bed sure was comfy. But her train of thought was cut when she heard the door open again and his footsteps approach her. She opened one eye. It had closed due to the comfortableness of his bed as she looked at him as he stared back. "What?"

"Sit up."

She frowned, rolling over so her back was to him. "No, it's comfy."

He raised an invisible eyebrow. "Sit up." He repeated, watching her fidget for a few moments before she finally sat up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed so that she was facing him. Her feet didn't touch the floor.

"Happy now?"

"Hn." He said before leaning his face towards hers. She merely blinked as she watched his lips move as he spoke. "You do know I can sense your heart beat."

"Really? That's interesting." She replied before her expression changed to that sly smirk she often used lately. She probably picked it up from Temari. "What does my heartbeat tell you?"

"That you're scared." He said with a small hint of anger in his voice.

She blinked, "Scared? Oh, you mean nervous."

"Why would you be nervous?"

"Well, I pretty much saw you naked a few minutes ago. I normally see you with more than just a towel wrapped around you waist." She said, glad that her voice was still smooth and collected. Inside, she was quite aware at how close his face was to hers, his deliciously pale lips only a few inches from hers. She could see his eyes very well. God, how she admired his eyes. Not many people have that shade between blue and green, and there was a coldness in them that sent shivers down her spine. But at the same time, those eyes tried to hide more pain that many people couldn't even imagine. Eyes that she could see past and lose herself in his misery.

"Hn." He said, apparently understanding her answer.

She gently pushed him away, "Good, now then. I'm off to finish this stupid cleaning. I swear, why can't you just get normal maids?" she asked as she stood up.

"Because they're afraid." He stated as he walked over to the door. He paused though before leaving. "Thank… you for the… gift. It's the first one I've gotten from a…friend." He said with a little difficulty before leaving.

She laughed lightly. "You're welcome, Gaara."

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"Temari, I already bought myself a fucking kimono. Why the hell am I here?"

"Because we need to buy one for Gaara. He only has to wear his Kazekage robes and hat for the announcements, and he hates shopping just as much as you do." She replied, "And watch you language."

"Do you like shopping?"

"For weapons, but clothes shopping can be pretty fun."

"You don't seem like the kind of person to like shopping…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing...Ow!" she rubbed the bump on her head. "What was that for?"

"I felt like it…now, she we go with red and white, or something festive?"

"I.Don't.Care."

Temari sighed, putting three on the counter before purchasing them. '_He'll just have to choose from these then. I have to find out what's bugging her.'_ She grabbed the other ninja by the ear like a mother would to a naughty child before dragging her outside. "Is something wrong, Kira?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

Kira scowled, glaring at her feet. "Walk with me. I'll tell you about it, I guess." They bought two ice creams to help cool escape the desert heat as they slowly walked back towards the mansion. "It's about the festival."

"Aren't you going with Yu?"

She shook her head, "It's all just a plan to use me to get Mei jealous."

"Did Yu tell you this?"

"He doesn't have to." She laughed a bit. "Those two break up once a month and sooner or later get back together. It's been like that since we were teens, and to them, it's an excuse for make-up sex. I think he's planning on proposing to her this time or something."

"So why are you depressed about it?"

"I don't really know. I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen during the festival is all."

"So?"

"I just have a feeling… but I'm going to see if Gaara-sama wants to hang out with me after those two get back together."

"He has feelings for you, you know."

Kira stopped, looking at the older in confusion, "I doubt it."

"Remember when he said you were going with him?"

"Yes."

"He NEVER does anything ANYONE. He used to rarely even go out to eat with Kankuro and I until you came along." She turned around and started back towards the mansion again. "It's like you're Gaara's. A part of the family."

"A screwed up family." Kira muttered as she followed. "Ow!"

"I heard that!"

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"Hello, Gaara-sama."

Gaara turned his head and moved over a little as Kira sat beside him on the roof. "What do you want?"

She ignored his cold tone, "I wanted to know if you'd like to join me in the festival tomorrow." She asked, bringing hr knees to her chest and hugging them to her body as they waited for the sun to rise. Today the ninja from Konoha were coming, so Kira had spent the entire night with a few others to get everything set up and rooms cleaned for the new guests.

His eyes turned into slits as he growled out a response. "What about Yu?"

"I'm only going with him to help him get back together with Mei."

Gaara turned his head and stared at her, surprise on his face for a few moments before the stoic mask came back on and he nodded.

She nodded before moving over and lightly hugging him. When she felt him tense to the contact, she released him. "Gome. Sorry, I'm just glad _someone_ wants to go to the festival with me."

He nodded in answer for the second time that morning. "We better get going soon to the main gates to greet the Konoha ninjas."

"We?"

"I know them well and it would be… rude to not introduce you to them."

"You're going to have to tell me who this man Temari is going with is."

"You'll find out the moment they see each other."

"Is it going to be a romantic reunion?" she asked, voice showing boredom.

"No."

"Oh goody, then." She said before looking towards the sky. "Gaara, if I were to die tomorrow, would you be sad?"

"I won't let you die."

She laughed lightly at his answer, "I'm not immortal Gaara, and neither are you."

He looked at her, her golden hair shined in the morning light before nodding.

"Just curious. A few months ago, I probably wouldn't have even cared if I died, and I knew nobody else really would either. But now, it's nice to know I'll be missed. Same goes for you though, no dying." She said before laying back and yawning. "I'm going to take a cat-nap before we go. I'm tired."

"Hn." He said as he watched her slowly drift into slumber.

"**No fair."**

'Fair?'

"**I wanna kill her so bad. But I can't anymore."**

'Oh, really?'

"**You're emotions are interfering with my head."**

'I'm going to call it payback for all the years of torture you put me though.'

"**I won't kill her, but can we kill those that threaten her?"**

Gaara gave an evil grin, 'That will be fine.'

"**On the full moon, I thirst for blood."**

Gaara nodded_, 'That's tomorrow.'_

"**Then get ready."**

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Once again, I apologize for how long it took me to update. The tenth chapter is already written in my notebook, so all I have to do is type it up. Chapter 11 is in progress, and that one WILL have your action along with Chapter 12 until the end.


	10. Chapter 10

Happy Valentine's Day! Yosh, this is my gift for you on this red and pink holiday (I hate pink, but LOVE red. FAVORITE COLOR!!!). I'm quite happy, having received flowers from my bubby. Yes, my bubby. I gave him chocolate and a Snoopy thingy since most guys don't really like flowers.

This is a longer chapter than a few of my others, so it should quench your appetite. Also, for those of you who might be wondering, I don't write Lemons/Limes/Yoai.

Well, here's chapter 10! I hope you all like it!

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"Those two were definitely meant for each other" Kira commented to Gaara as they watched Temari and Shikamaru converse in a conversation.

Al the Konoha ninja had already been introduced to Kira, all surprised that Gaara had actually growled at Naruto when the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja had tackled the kunoichi in a greeting hug.

Shikamaru walked up to Gaara and inclined his head, "Well, Kazekage-sama… should we head to the mansion?"

Gaara nodded, "Yes. After you've rested you may do as you please."

Sakura picked Naruto off the ground, "Come on, Naruto. You're soooo annoying."

"But it's that cat that's the annoying one!" he argued as Kina hopped up to the safety of Kira's shoulders.

The Konoha ninja that had been sent were Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Apparently, Konoha was having trouble with a new gang of missing nins. Thus, most of their ninja were too busy to come. Naruto's team was only allowed because Tsunade had said they needed a break. But from Shikamaru's point of view, everything was 'too troublesome'. This, in his terms meant 'A waste of time.'

Sakura walked up to Kira, "Kira, are you… dating the Kazekage?"

Kira burst in laughter, completely out of character. "No, no, but he's not all that bad."

"Yes, he has changed."

"He has." She replied, "By the way, you're a medic nin, right?"

"Yes, I train under the Hokage."

"Do you mind coming with me sometime to talk to our beginners? I'm sure Gaara-sama would like it."

Sakura nodded, "Sure, but you'll have to tell me a bit about yourself. When I get back, the others will want to know about everything and everyone I meet."

"You're not going to find out much…" Kira muttered as they reached the mansion.

"Oi, pervert sage!"

"What, Naruto?"

"Let's go to the ramen shop!"

"Already?"

"Yosh!"

Jiraiya sighed, "Fine, let's go."

"Hey, Jiraiya-sama." Shikamaru called.

"Yeeees?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"This is a desert, so most of the women are wrapped up and covered. Let's not gather any attention to ourselves."

"I knew this was going to be just a babysitting job!" Jiraiya cried as he left.

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'_**W-where am I?**' a small hand reached forward to grasp something, anything. But it only came back empty. '**Why is it so dark?**'_

_The faint sound of footsteps approached her. She turned "Who's there?" but it the footsteps only became louder before a small cat raced by. "Run for your life!"_

"_Run for my life? From what?" she asked, but the cat had already disappeared past the black veil. She gave up on finding the cat, and turned around, gasping as she became petrified by the new scene._

_The sky was red and black from the smoke and fire as she watched a small village, no, smaller than a village even, crumble in the horrific flames. Wait…this was her home. What was happening!_

"_Mommy, Daddy!" she cried as she raced through the streets. Smoldering corpses of those she no longer recognized littering the roads. She soon reached her home, only to come to an already demolished building. "No…no…" she began to repeat as she gripped her head with her hands. Flashing images of people dying, her family murdered, her home burning around her. "No! Stop it!" she screamed, "Why, why?"_

_She lifted her head, seeing the murders as they began to approach. More people without faces as they raised their weapons, dripping with blood. "No, get away!" she yelled, but they didn't. "I said get away from me!" she repeated with a snarl as she did a hand seal while fire shot from her mouth in mass proportion to defend herself._

'_**There's still too many. Why are they doing this? What did we do wrong?**' she thought as she turned around and began to run. She didn't know where to, the only thing she did know was that she had to get away. But she heard the soft cries of something in pain, making her stop to find a small kitten, injured and crying. She picked up the kitten, knowing that it was very much like her, without a home and no longer with family. She saw something glisten on the ground, picking it up as well before she felt cold steal slice the tender skin on her back. She yelped in pain, collapsing to the ground as the screams of others dying filled her ears. Her body shielded the crying kitten as her small fingers clutched over the shining object._

"_Why? What did we do wrong?" she said in a faint whisper as the darkness came back…_

"_What did we do wrong?"_

_Maniacal laughter filled the darkness._

"Why me?"

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"Kira…Kira…KIRA." WHACK. Gaara growled as his sand wrapped around the clawed hand that had tried to strike his head. "Kira, wake up." He demanded as his sand shook her lightly. Her eyes shot open before she jerked her hand from the sands grip. She was breathing hard, and was covered in sweat from what Gaara figured had been a nightmare. It took her a few moments before she remembered where she was and who was standing next to her.

"Gomen, Gaara. I didn't mean to slash out at you like that. Just a reflex."

"What happened?" he asked, always to the point.

"It was just a nightmare."

"What happened in your nightmare?"

"Kankuro was wearing a mini skirt."

Gaara nearly shuddered, NEARLY. "Does him wearing a mini skirt, no matter how frightening that may sound, cause you to cry out?"

"Yes…"

"Kira."

"It's nothing of your concern."

"Yes, it is."

She glared at him, "It was just a nightmare involving people getting killed."

He glared at her slightly. "You're annoyingly stubborn."

She gave a devious smile, "Thank you, but you're not one to talk."

"I order you, as the Kazekage, to inform me what your nightmare was about."

Her smile faded into a frown again. "You can't do that…can you?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed, "Yes, I can."

"That's not very fair." She muttered before sighing. "You know that I'm not from Suna, right?"

He nodded, "I heard you were found when you were a child outside the gates. You were covered in dirt and sand, along with dry blood."

"That's because the place that I lived in is unknown to anyone unless you were born there… At least, that's what we thought."

"We?"

"We, as in my clan. I'm sure there are still a few survivors, but our entire home was destroyed." Her face saddened. "I've just been having nightmares about the day it was destroyed and my family slaughtered and burned." She said, remembering the feeling of the cold, steel blades slicing through her back.

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. I only remember their voices. It's as if everyone's faces were wiped from my memory."

He just stared at her before saying, "It's late. You should go back to sleep."

She shook her head, "No, I'm okay. I probably won't be able to sleep anyways."

"You should get some sleep, the festival is today."

"Don't remind me…. Why were you in here anyways?"

"I heard you yell so I came in."

"Thought I was in trouble?" she asked before giving a small and amused laugh. "I'd try to go to sleep, but I doubt I'll be able to."

"Why?"

"Ah… I don't like that nightmare."

"It comes often?"

"Why are you so worried?"

"I'm not."

"Good. I hate it when you people worry about me. I'm a big girl."

"Now you're getting silly."

"Well at least my eyes don't glow in the dark."

He blinked. "Glow in the dark?"

"Yes. They're pretty, but kind of freaky since they're so bright."

"My eyes…are pretty." He scoffed.

"Oh, forget it." She laid back and stared at the ceiling.

"What are you doing?"

"What you do at night."

He was slightly taken back by her response. True, he did not sleep. He normally just stared at the moon and sometimes at her as she slept. Not in a creepy way. More like a protector would. He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he sensed a presence outside. Kira seemed to have sensed it as well for she sat up and reached a hand under her pillow.

'_She has weapons underneath her pillow?_' he thought as the sand from his gourd slowly drifted towards the window. He had placed it against the door upon entering, thinking that he didn't need it. His sand sifted through the cracks of the window as he made the hand sign for 'The Third Eye.'

"There are some people outside watching us. They're wearing masks with a red symbol on it. The symbol is of…a cat? Isn't that the description of the gang of missing nins?"

"It is. What are they doing?"

"They're just watching us. I'm going to get rid of them." He said as more sand sifted through the cracks of the window. But one of the gang members saw this subtle movement and they disappeared in a swirl of sand. "Damn…"

"Should we go after them?"

"No. We'll get them after the festival."

"To stop a panic from starting?"

He nodded as they waited. For ten minutes they stayed there before Gaara's sand opened the window and returned to his gourd while Kira's hand moved from under her pillow. "I wonder what they wanted."

"Hn." He said in agreement. "You should go to sleep."

"Will you stay in here with me?"

He stared at her for a few moments, "Why?"

"Because, I'm safer with you around and that should help me sleep."

"…"

"You're so hopeless. Look, I'm not going to beg, but could you stay with me for tonight?"

He stared at her again before nodding. "Fine, we don't know if those ninjas will try to come back anyways."

"Fine with me." She replied before lying back down again. "I know that you cannot sleep, but you can lie down if you want." She added before shutting her eyes.

Gaara watched out the window for the first two hours but the gang ninjas from earlier did not return. So, he turned his head to watch Kira sleep. He was quite content to watch her breath slowly as she relaxed. Her hair was pooled over her pillow while her arms hugged another pillow to her body, like a child and their stuffed bear.

He decided to take up her offer and lie down, facing her to get a better look. He had forgotten about the open window until a cold breeze caused Kira to shiver and move to the warmest place on the bed, snuggled against Gaara. But he didn't want to wake her, not knowing if she would be angry or not. Kira could be even scarier than Temari when angry, and he didn't want her yelling so late at night.

He glanced down at her, remembering what Shukaku had said. That he would not hurt her, even if he came out. Gaara had decided not too long ago that Kira was his…but, he knew very little about her. She had listened to his entire history. The story of how his uncle, Yashamaru had told him he loved him, but it turned out that he had been lying. How he killed his mother when he was born, and found a purpose in life by killing people. He even told her of the battle with Sasuke and Naruto. She seemed to enjoy hearing it, and learned more about Shukaku in the process. Yet, whenever he or anyone else asked where she was from, she made up some excuse before fleeing. This nightmare she had though had told him something… and he was going to see how much more he could get from it.

He heard a clock strike as another hour passed by. Dawn was approaching and he could smell the morning air as Kira moved a little in her sleep. Her head was resting against his shoulder with her arm draped across his chest. Shukaku had always made fun of his height, but with Kira around, he felt like a giant. At least he knew he would tower over somebody.

Gaara blinked as the sun shined its morning rays through the open window. Dawn had finally arrived and already the bells to symbol the beginning of the festival could be heard faintly in the distance.

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Kira moved her head down to escape the annoying bright light before growling at it. She was comfy and warm…but, why did this warm thing she was hugging smell like Gaara? Wait, didn't she ask Gaara to stay with her the other night? She moved her head up and opened her eyes to be greeted by his aquamarine…."Morning." she said with a yawn.

Gaara simply stared at her, "It's about time you woke up."

"What time is it?"

"7:16"

"Hnnnn…So early."she muttered before finally sitting up groggily. "You should get ready. The activities can't start until you greet 'the guests of honor'." She walked over to her closet, opening it and reaching in for her kimono. "What are you wearing, Gaara? I saw Temari grab three for you to choose from." She asked as she turned around to bump into his chest.

He reached down, taking the wrapped kimono from her hand. "Is this what you're wearing?"

She snatched it back, "You'll see it when I wear it. Now, I have to ready myself for this retarded festival." She said and began to gently push him out. "I'll meet you in the kitchen or whatever later. Temari wants everyone to leave together."

"Hn."

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"Are the preparations complete?" a hooded figure asked from atop a sand dune on the outskirts of Suna.

"Yes, master. The target has been identified and found."

"Good, she is of the Cat Clan, so be careful. I want her alive and uninjured."

"Sir, if I may, what is so important about this woman?"

The leader of them, a large man with golden cat eyes gleaming from behind a hooded cloak smiled a hidden grin. "She's a relative of mine." He replied as a flame furred cat hopped on his shoulder.

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I had no idea how long it took to type a longer chapter until this week. I typed this for about…. 2-3 hours, maybe more. But then again, it's about 8 pgs. Anyways, I'll update ASAP, but I have my aunt visiting for a month. It's a big deal, since I've never seen her before and probably never will. (she lives in another country)

This chapter was…an okay one in my opinion. The 11th one is much better and the 12th is pretty intense, I guess.

Well, Happy Valentine's day!


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11!!! Yay for chapter 11! Okay, I have no idea what to say at the moment. I don't really feel like saying much today. I normally just skip what authors have to say unless it's related to the story. Why? I dunno, probably because I'm so into the fic that I'm too impatient. - Yeah, not nice, but are you reading this right now? You are? Wow, you're just plain **WEIRD. **But so am I, so I guess that's ok.

I don't own Naruto. Just these characters, really. Sort of…yeah, I'll shut up now.

Enjoy!

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Gaara scowled as he waited in his chair for the festival to begin. Winter season colors and other decorations adorned every building throughout the entire village. Every year they would build a large stage where the Kazekage would announce the beginning of the festival. The stage would hold plays and other performances every hour or so. Why he was responsible for it he had no idea. He hated this sort of thing.

A few other lords were seated among the stage as well, along with any other important figures. The Konoha ninjas were also there, each wearing a nice kimono or yukata. Sakura's kimono was pink with red floras, Naruto in a black yukata with a bit of orange of course. Shikamaru's yukata was silver and blue to match Temari's and Jiraiya wore simple black and white.

Soon about half of the village had arrived, and he was given the signal to start. '_I hate this shit,_' was all he could think as he walked up to the microphone. "People of Suna and our guests, I welcome you to the Winter Festival. We have many guests; four are honorable ninja from Konoha who we are happy to have within our walls. But, I don't want to hold the festival from starting. So, let the activities begin." And with that out of the way, a few fireworks shot off as dancers filled the stage. From how his voice and quickness, it was obvious that he hadn't wanted to give the speech.

Gaara scanned the audience from his seat until he found Kira, catching eye contact with her for a moment before a performer blocked his way. But when they moved again he was surprised by her appearance. Her hair was down with and had been cut so that it came in different layers, yet still had its medium-long length of curls. She also had a red flower in her hair. She had gotten some help from Temari in getting her makeup ready, which only enhanced her angelic features. And the kimono she was wearing was… wait… that was the matching kimono of his! He glanced at Temari, who only smiled when she noticed him glaring at her.

Temari must have snuck into Kira's closet and had probably done this on purpose. And they say _he_ was the evil one. Both of their kimonos were white with red symbols on them and embroideries that made the appearance of fire on the front. Kira's kimono fit her perfectly, showing every curve of her body. He licked him lips subconsciously before forcing himself to watch the current performance of dancers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Hey!" a voice called to Kira and Yu. They turned around to see a _very_ pissed off Mei approaching. "Why are you with her?" she demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Kira.

Yu smiled as he wrapped an arm around Kira's shoulders. "I'm on a date. Where's the new boyfriend that I've heard so much about?"

"He couldn't come."

Kira smirked, _'I wouldn't blame him.'_ She thought before saying, "Do you want to join us, Mei? Just like the good old days?"

Mei watched Kira for a few moments before nodding.

"Good. I'm going to go check on Gaara-sama. I'll be back as soon as I'm done." She said, twisting away from Yu and walking off before they could question her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kina hopped on Kira's shoulder. "_That was too easy, even for you."_

"It was just too obvious. Love sick morons. I bet they give each other the cold glares and insults for about thirty seconds before apologizing and going off to make out somewhere."

"_How nice"_

"Isn't it?"

"_So where are you going now?"_

"To 'rescue' Gaara from the number one knuckle headed ninja." She replied as she walked up to the blond and red head. Naruto was talking as Gaara listened with mild interest. Naruto waved happily at Kira before glaring at Kina.

"Hello Kira! I was just talking to Gaara about my latest mission. He told me you had a Kekkai Genkai, can I see it?"

She nodded, "Yes, I do. But I'll show it to you later."

He gave a goofy grin, "Great! Oh, Sakura-chan!" he yelled with glee before running off… a few moments later there was a thump and "Baka!"

Kira laughed lightly before turning her attention back to Gaara, who was staring at her. "Gaara?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He grabbed her hand from his face as he put on a slightly irritated face and stood up from his seat. She pulled her hand away from his iron-like grip before asking, "I got away from the love sick puppies. What would you like to do?"

"Get out of these robes first. But I don't know after that. I normally just sit here until it ends."

"Oh… well, let's get you out of those robes."

He nodded, opening a compartment hidden behind his chair and pulling out his kimono. Kira glanced at it and snatched it from his hands to look at it. "Temari?"

"Temari."

"Humph, fine then." She handed it back to him, "We'll go looking alike then. You don't mind, do you?" He shook his head and walked off the stage to find a place to change as Kira followed before waiting near a stand. After he had disappeared from her view, she looked at what the stand had, realizing that it sold fake ANBU masks for children to play in. They were brightly colored, like rainbows so that people wouldn't get too confused. She was looking at what else they may have when she heard her name called. Turning around, she saw the pink haired kunoichi coming towards her. "Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Hey Kira, could you come with me for a few minutes?"

"Sure, where's Naruto?"

"Naruto…? Oh! He went to go try out the foods."

"That sounds like him. Kina, stay here with Gaara for me."

"_Now I'm the one babysitting."_

"We'll be back before you know it." Kira assured her before walking away with Sakura.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Gaara watched another skit begin from his seat. When he had come out, he was irritated to find Kina without Kira waiting for him. But if Kina was still with him, he knew Kira would be back soon. Kina had even figured a way to point to the color pink, so that meant Sakura. How a colorblind cat could do that, he had no idea. But it was now noon, and still no sign of her. _'What the hell is going on?'_

His eyes scanned the audience, stopping when he spotted the pink haired ninja. He frowned when he noticed that Kira wasn't with her. Wait… Kira wasn't with any of the other Konoha ninja or his siblings, either. Yu was with some other woman whom he figured to be Mei. So where was Kira?

He stood up, walking off the stage and towards Sakura. "Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Kira, she was with you."

"No she wasn't. I've been with _Naruto_ the whole time." She said with annoyance in her voice.

"It's true!" Naruto verified, seeing that Gaara wasn't convinced.

Gaara stared at the two. "Kira is gone."

Sakura blinked dumbly, "Huh?"

"She's missing is what I said. Someone must have done a henge jutsu to look like you." He growled out as he turned and headed towards his sister. "Temari, Kira is missing. I want you to gather any ninja who are on patrol and tell them to look out for anyone who fills her description. Be sure to allow nobody to leave the village or enter without being searched."

"Hai." She replied shortly before disappearing by rooftop.

"Kankuro," he said, turning around to stare. "Who the hell is that?"

Kankuro frowned, "My _date_ remember?" he said, pulling the black haired, blue eyed beauty closer to him. "Her name is Llyana, _remember_?"

"Oh, right. Nice to meet you. Now, Kankuro, Kira is missing. You are to go with Sakura and Naruto to inform the others. Then come follow my trail. Say good bye to Llyana."

Kankuro sighed dramatically, "Sorry, I'll catch you later." He said before leaving in a run as well, Naruto and Sakura close behind.

Seeing as how his orders were given, Gaara scanned the ground with his eyes until he spotted the flame furred cat. "Kina."

"Meow."

"…… I need you to follow Kira's scent from the place where we last saw her."

Kina gave a quickly reply before sprinting to where Kira was last seen with the imposter.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

'_God my head hurts.' _Kira thought with a groan as she opened her eyes. She looked around, absorbing her surroundings. She was in a _very_ dark room that only had the chair she was sitting in with a single hanging lamp as furniture. Against the wall were the hidden weapons that she had been carrying. She could feel one that they had missed, but it was too hard for her to move to reach it. The room was in bad shape with rotting and charred wooden walls, which meant trees were available. So she knew she wasn't in Suna anymore. There were also bloodstains on the walls, giving her the vibe that she did NOT want to be here.

"Glad you're awake." A voice said, startling her. The voice chuckled, obviously male and strangely familiar. "We've placed a drug in your system to mess up your senses and chakra, so it's not too much of a surprise that you didn't sense me." There was a small click as the single light lit up the room, causing her to squint and turn her head from the sudden brightness, but the bounds tying her to her chair didn't allow for much movement.

"What do you want?" she growled, but her voice was slightly cracked due to her throat being dry.

"Ah ah ah, watch that temper of yours. Though, your clan was well known for it."

"How do you know of my clan?" she asked, eyes searching for the host of the voice.

He laughed, "You will learn in time, but first we must wait for the other guests."

"Others…?"

"Oh, just the Kage of Suna and a little cat."

"Don't you dare touch them!" she hissed, tugging on the bounds. She stopped though when she felt a cold hand come up from behind her and caress her cheek.

"You've grown much over the years. You're small like your father, but you also have his eyes and spirit. Although," he traced her lower lip, careful she didn't get to bite him. "You have your mother's beauty." He finished before turning the light off and vanishing back into the darkness.

'_How does he know my parents?'_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Kazekage-sama!"

Gaara and Kina stopped at the sound of Yu. "We overheard that Kira is missing."

He nodded, "She is."

"We wish to help. We owe her, and we have an idea on where she might be." Mei said.

"Tell me as we run."

"Hai!" They said as they began to race across the desert. "When we were younger, Kira used to disappear after every mission." Mei explained, "We asked her one day where she disappeared to."

"And she told us to visit her parents."

Gaara glanced towards the two, "But they were killed."

"Meaning she was visiting the destroyed clan village that once was the home of the fire cats."

"So why would she be taken there?"

"Few people know of its location."

Kina stopped as they reached where the desert stopped and turned into a small forest. They were at the very northwestern borders of the Wind country.

"As we got to know Kira better, she explained that the village was hidden due to an illusionary genjutsu. But it's gone now that the source of the illusion disappeared."

"Hn." Gaara said as they followed Kina into the trees. After a few minutes, the trees cleared to show the destroyed home of the Fire Cat Clan.

"Oh. My. God." Was Mei's reaction to the sight.

Blood stained the ground as it looked like a huge battle had occurred. Skeletons of the dead still littered the streets, some hanging on half burnt pikes. Buildings that weren't crumbled to the ground were scorched and everything was in ruins.

"They were burned alive…" Yu examined as they walked through the streets.

Kina walked through, unaffected by the dead bones and ruined buildings, to a large and still standing building in the center of everything. She clawed at the door until it opened and slipped in.

Yu and Mei hesitated to enter, but Gaara walked straight in. Straight into a living hell.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ummm…no clue what to say at the moment. I hope you liked this chapter. Who is this mysterious person you ask? Well, I'm not too sure yet, either, so you'll just have to wait until I update again.

See ya!

R&R!!!! CUZ YOU LOVE ME SOOO MUCH!!!...I hope.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm aliiiiiiiiiiiive…. But just barely. Hee hee. Since I feel that this took too long for me to update, I'm not even going to put anything besides a disclaimer. See? I don't own Naruto. So here is Chapter 12 of Haunted. .

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I can hardly see a thing." Mei whispered as they entered the dark building. Only a few small holes in the roof gave the large and wrecked room light. Kina couldn't help them without Kira, so she guided them carefully around the wreckage as they slowly progressed through the rooms.

Gaara stopped at a certain door. "There are enemies ahead. Kill anyone who tries to leave or enter besides me or Kira." He ordered, leaving the other two to their task.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"What do you want anyways?" Kira asked into the darkness. She knew he was still there. His golden eyes were visible on the other side of the room.

"Well, I'm in charge of a little group."

"The gang of missing nins?"

"Oh, you're sharp. Yes, and you're my bait. I've got a little something that will help me kill the Kazekage. I have nothing against him personally, but I have a camera here so the other villages will know I'm not to be underestimated."

"I doubt it."

"Do you? You'll just have to wait and see. There's something that I want from you too. I'm sure you still have it."

"The only thing I have that is of any value is my partner and my bloodline trait. What could you possibly want?"

"It was here until you took it on the day this village was annihilated. Let's see… It's shiny, red, and was the item that helped this clan stay hidden for so many decades."

She glared at him, "Who are you?"

"How rude of me! To think, I know so much about you, and you don't even know my name. But then again, you might actually know me very well. My name is Osaka."

"No… that's not possible." She said, shaking her head furiously; as though doing that will make him go away.

"So you do remember me?" Osaka gave a laugh, "How nice. I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you who I was in detail."

"How did you-?"

"Survive? Some way as you did. But, I couldn't go to another village and start over again like you could. And I can't get my revenge on the world that turned me down without that gem. Where is it!" he asked again, anger in his demanding voice.

"I told you, I don't know!"

"Come now," he purred, circling around so she couldn't see him. "You can tell a long lost relative its location."

"You killed your own brother. Why should I tell you? You're the one who killed me!"

"How could I kill you if you're still breathing?" She glared at him. "That's right; the item that you took is keeping you alive. You're going to give it to me, but let's wait until your little Kazekage arrives."

"I should have told father to kill you when I had the chance."

"You didn't, did you? Couldn't have daddy kill your loving uncle?" She kept silent, not knowing what to respond. He chuckled, "Well, my other guests are here. Let's give them something to see, shall we?" Kira heard the flick of a blade as her uncle stepped into the light. He grinned as he placed the blade against her skin, although the grin was hidden.

"Let's begin."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Gaara had lost Kina in the mazelike building.

'**You lost her, idiot.'**

'_I know that, shut up so I can concentrate.' _Gaara stumbled over a fallen beam, but his sand came out from his already open gourd to keep him on his feet. He heard his sand shift as it blocked six shuriken that were aimed at his head.

'**They've arrived.'** Shukaku stated as Gaara reeled around. His eyes had adjusted to the light a little while ago, but he could barely see the silhouettes of three foes. He raised his hands, sand shooting out like bullets. Seeing them dodge, he took it as a good opportunity to find a place with better lighting. He didn't know how well his opponents were at fighting in the dark, nor could he see them clearly enough to fight them efficiently to save chakra.

He sprinted down a random hall, seeing a small light in a room ahead. Running over to the door, he paused in case of a trap or ambush. When there was none, he entered the room, still on his toes in case another enemy was hiding.

'**GET OUT OF HERE!'** Shukaku roared, pounding against Gaara's mind.

"_I see another door."_ He replied, stopping in his place as he heard the familiar cry of Kira in pain. It was coming from the very door ahead of him.

'**I SAID STOP!" **Shukaku nearly screamed as Gaara ran into the room. He saw Kira in the center, tied securely to a chair. Her head was hung, her hair blocking his view of her face.

Hearing someone enter, Kira lifted her head. She had a cut along her face, and other parts of her body had been cut as well, blood staining her red and white kimono. "Gaara? No, get away from me! Get out of here, now!"

"**It's a trap."** Was the faint sound of Shukaku's voice, as though he was tired. Gaara raised his hand…. But his sand didn't come out.

"He has the room covered in seals," Kira said, gesturing her head to the floors and walls. All over there were scrolls and sutras stuck to various objects. Once fell off the ceiling, landing on the ground in front of him. He bent down to look at it, and felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. He grunted, placing his hands on the ground before kicking his feet up in the air behind him. Hearing a satisfying crack, his foot made contact with the enemy behind him. He wasn't used to actually attacking, and quickly stood up straight. Turning, he faced a cloaked figure on the ground before it made a 'Pop!'… a substitution jutsu.

The door slammed shut, clicking as it locked. Silence surrounded them, the only sound coming from Kira's shallow breathing and the sound of her blood dripping to the floor.

"I thought you didn't know how to fight without your sand, Kazekage-sama." A mocking voice said as the cloaked figure appeared from a dark corner.

Gaara glared." What do you want?"

"Straight to the point, like always, eh? There are actually quite a few things that I want. In fact, I want pretty much everything. I want to **control** everything."

"Most crazy ninja do. What does it have to do with me?"

"You're only a small part to make me better known. Apparently, my gang is a 'waste of time'. But it won't be for long. By killing the Kazekage, the others will know I'm a threat and that I mean business."

"You won't be able to do it, you're too weak." Kira said her voice bitter with hate.

"Ah, but that's where you come in, my little niece."

Gaara stared blankly, "'Niece?'" he quoted.

The man lifted his hands up, removing the hood of the cloak. His hair was sandy blond, short and slightly curly. He had golden colored eyes due to their kekkai genkai, and had a sly grin on his face. "My name is Osaka, brother of the Fire Cat clan leader, Kaname, and uncle of its heir, Kira. Now, Kira, give me the goddamn gem!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Really?" Osaka turned to Gaara, seeing the Kazekage preparing to strike. "Tell me, Gaara-_sama_, do you sense a strange chakra in her? Don't lie, I saw you hesitate."

Gaara grabbed onto a kunai, grateful that he had brought some sort of weapon. Shukaku had explained that the sutras and scrolls had writings and symbols similar to the seal that the monk had used to seal him with. How they had gotten their hands on them, he had no idea. They weakened their control on sand, making it impossible to control. In other words, Gaara had no sand. "I did, but that's not unusual if a Kekkai Genkai is involved."

"Wrong!" Osaka said was he raced at Gaara, slashing his claws at him while Gaara struggled to dodge. "Don't forget, Kazekage-_sama_ that I am of the Fire Cat Clan." He said, spinning on his heel to land a punch that broke Gaara's balance, leaving him open for another attack. "I'm fast."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Beast Strike!" Yelled Yu as the quick flash of a chakra made tiger knocked away three opponents as he swung his sword. He stepped back, so that Mei and he were back to back again. It was a closed off room, and they needed to have as big of a range of sight as possible.

"How many was that?" Mei asked, catching one fan and throwing the other as she use the one she caught to stop three shuriken aimed for Yu's head.

"They were my 11th, 12th, and 13th." He replied, grunting as a ninja appeared and parried with him. Yu kicked him in the gut before stabbing and throwing him out of the way. "Make that 14."

"Do you hear a ticking sound?"

"Ticking sound…? Oh, shit! Out the window,**now**!" he yelled, grabbling the collar of her kimono before throwing her of one. He then followed after her as the explosion launched them even further out and onto the street.

Mei sat up… "That hurt." She muttered, crawling over to Yu. He had a large bump on his head, but was still conscious and fine. "Good, I'd kill you if you died on me."

"Is that even possible?"

"Yet, it is." She looked up at the now burning building. "Do you think they'll be alright?"

He sat up, "Kira controls fire, remember? Plus, Gaara is in there."

"But Kira… she can't control **that **much fire, and isn't she afraid of burning buildings?"

"Oh…" His eyes widened, "Let's get more help."

"Right."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Okies…now the 12th chapter is COMPLETE! I have the 13th written, and since I have no school next week, (GO SPRING BREAK!) I should have it up sometime during that period. Maybe I'll even complete this by then! . yes, yes, yes…that would be nice. And then I want to write a sequel. This next chapter coming up is pretty intense though, so be ready! I'm having sooo much fun with this. R&R pwease! is hair was sandy bl


	13. Chapter 13

MY COMPUTER SUX!!!! It keeps shutting down, so it was very annoying when typing this up. But I also got the 14th chapter typed, and it will be up on Easter.

I'm also sick, and during my Spring Break too! Life just likes to come and bite me in the butt. But, I'm fine with it. Anyways, here is the 13th chapter of Haunted. Nice lil actiony chapter .

OOO

"Temari, how much farther do you think they went?" Kankuro asked as they ran across the desert. After doing what Gaara had ordered they both grabbed as many free ninja they could find and started to follow the traces of where Gaara had gone. They had been relieved to see that he wasn't alone when they found an extra pair of foot prints in the sand. Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Jiraiya had all followed.

"I don't know, but I can see trees ahead."

"Yosh! No more desert!" Naruto yelled with glee as he raced ahead.

"Damn it, kid! You don't know if there's an ambush or traps!" Kankuro yelled in anger as they all sped up to catch up with the blond. "And what's so bad about the desert?"

"Coming from the man in a full body black suit…" Sakura murmured, "It's a shock you don't get heat stroke."

OOO

"Damn it, Osaka! Fight me you bastard, or are you so weak that you have to fight an nearly defenseless Kage?"

"I'm not defenseless." Gaara muttered as he dodged another attack. He knew he was though. He had always had his sand, and wasn't the best fighter when it came to fists. He only knew how to do that kick he had pulled because it was similar to Lee's.

"Yes, I am too weak. But I won't be once I get that gem. Maybe if you gave it to me, I'll let him live."

"You're an awful liar."

"Am I? But then again, what do you have to lose?"

"I can't give it to you if I'm tied down."

"Kira…"

"I know what I'm doing, Gaara."

Osaka stopped attacking Gaara, turning towards her to see if he could find any traces of lying in her eyes. He walked over to her; keeping a close eye on Gaara as he took out the blade he had used earlier. He cut through the binds, taking a step back in case she wanted to attack.

She stood up, noticing that her ankle was chained to the ground by chakra strings. She stretched her arms and rubbed her wrists where the skin had been rubbed raw by her bonds. Hearing Osaka tapping his foot impatiently, she gave a yawn, just to piss him off before she reached up to the collar of her Kimono. Gaara's eyes widened slightly as she undid the tap half of her kimono, the wrappings underneath showing. She placed a finger on the center of her chest, just above her breasts. "You want it?" Osaka approached, "Then you'll have to kill me for it." She said, making a bunch of hand signs. A small red glow emitted from the ground she had pointed as the room began to engulf in flames.

"What are you doing?! You idiot, you can't control your chakra with that drug still in your body!"

She smiled, "No, but those seals aren't fireproof, are they?" she said knowingly as the small papers began to burn.

"No!" he yelled, turning to Gaara who had a sadistic grin on his face.

"Now you're my prey." The Kage said as his control over sand slowly began to come back.

"No Gaara, he's mine. Make sure he doesn't try to escape."

"Fine."

Kira began to make a series of quick hand signs. She couldn't activate her Kekkai Genkai cat traits, but she could still manipulate the dangerous flames. "Fire Element: Dark Flame of Hatred Jutsu!" The fire that had been surrounding the panicking ninja turned into a black coloring as it slowly began to eat away at anything that it touched. Even the floors were burnt away as it left holes wherever the hungry flames could eat.

"This is a jutsu that my father taught me. It takes the energy that comes from my anger and hate, fueling my chakra. The chakra flames turn black to reflect the emotion, and burn at an even faster rate with so high of a temperature that it melts what it touches. I suggest you do something."

Osaka frowned, glaring knives at her. "Fine then." He said, raising his hand as the chakra strings around her ankle caused her to lose her balance. He ran at Kira, his blade ready to kill. She spun on her heel, but the anchor around her ankle limited the amount of movement she had. She elbowed Osaka in the gut, causing him to gasp for air before she kicked him away with her free leg. Osaka was knocked to the ground, but stood up again. He wiped away the blood that was coming from his busted lip before cursing at her. He flicked his wrist, the chakra strings around her ankle expanding as they grabbed her left arm. Gaara's sand shot out as Osaka went in for another try, Kira now wide open for an attack. Gaara heard the familiar sound of blood being shed, and stared at the two. Kira had a slightly clouded look in her eyes and a serene smile as the blade stabbed her. But Osaka wasn't moving… he had a sword protruding from his back.

"You missed one of them you sick, cruel bastard." She mumbled, pushing the now dead body away from her. The fire turned back into its normal color, but it was going out of control as it spread its hungry ambition. Kira looked towards Gaara, reaching out a bloody arm before falling to the ground, unconscious.

OOO

Temari swung her fan as Naruto along with four of his clones ran over to help Mei and Yu fight the gang of missing ninjas. Shikamaru carefully jumped up and on top of a building. "I know where Gaara and Kira are." He said, pointing in the direction of the burning building.

"Sakura, Kankuro. You two go over and see if there's anyone inside!" Jiraiya said as he took out a scroll.

Sakura and Kankuro nodded, racing in the direction that Shikamaru had instructed. When the enemy ninja had tried to follow them, Shikamaru used his shadow possession jutsu while Temari took them out. "Just like old times." She called to him with a smirk.

OOO

"Look at that fire!" Sakura said in awe as the two ran up to it. "There's no way we can get it there. It's too hot and the smoke would choke us."

"Look, there's sand pressing against that window… get out from underneath it!" he yelled grabbing her by the arm and moving out of the way as glass fell to the ground. A few seconds later and Gaara came out of the window, landing in front of Sakura.

"Heal her, please." He said, placing the limp body of Kira where the glass hadn't reached. Sakura knelt down, hands glowing green as she placed them over the deep wound. A few minutes later and the wound closed. Sakura reached over, checking her pulse. "She's alive, but we have to take her to the village or she'll die of blood loss from her other wounds."

He nodded, picking up Kira again. Kina came up, hopping into his shoulder to stare at her partner. She placed a paw on the girl's forehead, bowing her head as though she was crying.

OOO

'_I'm cold…yet, I'm warm.' Kira sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. She looked up, seeing only darkness. Jumping to her feet, she realized that this wasn't the dream from before. She was her normal age and still wearing her nice kimono. But it wasn't torn up and bloody like it had been before._

'_Am I…alone?' she took a step forward, stopping as the area around her lit up faintly. She looked down, eyes widening at the sight below her._

"_Why is Gaara in there?" she asked as she knelt down, placing a delicate hand on the glass floor. Through the glass, she could see Gaara in his matching yukata. He seemed almost…sad. But why would he be sad? She tried to think about what might be causing his sadness, but couldn't recall it. All she remembered was feeling a burden being lifted and then…darkness._

Wake up.

_She blinked, looking around to where the voice might be coming from._

Wake up.

_Looking down, she realized that he was no longer below her. She looked up, seeing him reach his hand towards her._

Wake up, please.

_She placed her hand into his, almost pulling back from the sudden warmth he had. He pulled her towards him, but before she could be completely wrapped by his warmth...He was gone._

I don't want to be alone...

OOO

Alright, next chapter will come up on Easter morning!(If I can get on...)

Enjoy, R&R


	14. Chapter 14

Happy Easter, everyone! Here is the final chapter of 'Haunted'! –hops up and down like a rabbit-

OOO

Gaara watched Kira from the only chair in the small room. The sound of her heart beating was slow and steady…too slow.

Gaara had defeated the gang mercilessly, using the poor souls to take his rage out on. The others had all been too frightened to even approach him, and he wouldn't let the unconscious kunoichi out of his sight.

They all rushed Kira back to Suna, where she was immediately placed in an intensive care room. They had tended the rest of her wounds, but she had lost too much blood already. Not only that, but the drug Osaka had injected her with seemed to have put her in a coma or dreaming state. They didn't know what he had used, so all they could do was wait and see if she would wake up while they tried to match the symptoms.

He stood up, walking over to the bed. Her skin was ghostly pale as she had had a rare blood type along with her blood trait, so they didn't have enough for a complete blood transfusion. Her heart was going to have to do most of the work.

He stared at her face, reaching a hand out and placing it on the top, left corner of her forehead where his kanji sing for 'love' had been placed.

_Fight only for yourself and love only yourself._

"Bull shit." He muttered, turning back to his seat to sit back down. He leaned his head back against the wall that was there, rubbing his eyes before looking towards the bed again. '_Wake up…wake up…please. I don't want to feel alone.'_

The insistent and haunting sound of her heart getting faster didn't help much either

_Wait…getting faster? _He looked up, watching the black screen as her heart beat began to return to normal speeds. He stood up, walking over to her side.

Kira's hand went up as she opened her eyes, causing him to dodge it slightly as it clutched into a tight fist. "Please tell me this isn't heaven, because I hate hospitals." She said, rubbing her eyes.

Gaara stared. "Why did you do that?"

"Hm?" she asked, turning her head to face him. "I always swing a fist when I wake up. It's a habit."

"Why did you stop me from killing him? It would have been easier and you wouldn't have been injured. It would have been the best way."

She yawned, "Because…I needed to kill him. It's a long story; I'll tell you once I have more strength."

"No. You'll tell me now. I have plenty of time, and you've been pushing it away from me for too long. Tell me, NOW."

She frowned, placing her hands on her lap. She took a few moments to sort her thoughts before beginning.

"As you know, I was Osaka's niece and the heir of my clan and home. But… the thought of a girl becoming the heir was…unfavorable to a few of the members. They began to work with ninjas outside of our walls, which was forbidden, and soon things got out of hand. My uncle was the leader. He wanted to rule over our clan and home." Her hands clenched into fists. "So he killed my father and decided to take the item that fueled our village with the power it needed to survive. But, he didn't know its location. Only those who were the leaders did." She looked to him, seeing that she had all of his attention. It was strangely comforting, despite his impassive outlook.

"Who would have thought a small child would be smart enough to take the gem before it could be stolen? Nobody, apparently, but I did. After seeing Osaka kill my father, he burned my mother alive along with our home while I was still in it. I escaped though by jumping out the third story window and ran ahead thinking maybe my parents could rest in peace if I kept the gem safe. But he saw me running, and stabbed me in the back."

She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her hospital clothes that they had changed her into. "He didn't know I had the gem, and left me thinking I'd die a slow and painful death. But I did have it, and although I did die…the gem brought me back." She reached her hand out. "Give me your hand."

Gaara moved over to her, cautiously holding out his hand. He had to top the urge to pull back as she took them and placed them on her chest. Her skin was cold, but as her hands radiated red as a red gem surfaced from under her skin, he could see and feel the gems warmth as it radiated with a powerful chakra. "This is what Osaka was after. This is what alienated me from others and allowed me to live."

Gaara stared at his hand before gently pulling away. "Shukaku had told me about your unusual chakra. As Kazekage, I'm supposed to take it away from you." He saw anger mixed with pain in her eyes, but more anger than anything. "But I won't. If you took away the gem, what would happen?"

"I'm not sure. The extraction might kill me since the gem's chakra is fused with mine."

"Then we won't try."

"Are you going to tell the others?" she asked, pressing a button on the bed that moved its position so she could sit up.

"No."

"Good." She looked around. "How long have I been out cold?"

"Almost three days."

She bit her lip, seeing the gifts she had received from her new friends. She wasn't used to people really caring, and found it annoying that people worried. "Have you been here the entire time?"

He nodded in response, going back to his chair.

"Oh…why?" she asked, confused on why anyone would do that. She had seen others do it, yes. But those people normally had family or were in a relationship of some sort. She had none of that.

"I didn't want you to feel alone when you woke up."

"Oh…" she said, nodding her head as though that movement would knock some sense into it. "OH! We missed the festival, didn't we?"

He raised an invisible eyebrow. "I thought you hated it."

"I did… but it was supposed to be my first one." She reached over and opened the nearest get well card. "Yu and Mei are getting married?" she laughed, "Am I a mind reader or what, Kina? Wait… where's Kina?"

"At home. They wouldn't allow any pets in the hospital."

Kira frowned, happiness about the news of her friends marriage completely gone as it was replaced by anger. Gaara shut his eyes…his headache was about to get a lot bigger. "How hard is it to see that she's not a fucking pet? Now she's probably hurt that the flipping retards think she's 'just a normal cat.'" She began to speak at a faster rate as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Gaara stood up, knowing she shouldn't be moving around after being in a coma for the past few days. She stood up though, grabbing some clothes before beginning to change. He blinked, turning around to pick up his gourd. When he turned back around, Kira was already dressed and ready to go. "She's a _special_ cat. Now she feels normal and unwanted, the heartless bastards." She started off again, walking out of her room and down the hall, a silent and arm filled Gaara not far behind. He signed her out, knowing the sooner they got back, the sooner she'd calm down.

'_Now I see why Shikamaru calls women troublesome.'_ He bumped into Kira. "Something wrong?" he asked, seeing that she was standing there as she looked towards the sky with her eyes closed.

"Yeah, just glad to be out in the sun is all. Come on!" she yelled, racing off by rooftop.

He caught up without too much trouble. "You do know you shouldn't be moving around like this."

"I'm fine, mother. When we get to the mansion, I'll go straight to bed like a good girl."

He shook his head. Why even try?

OOO

Gaara hopped on the roof like he did every night, seeing Kira already there. He walked over, sitting down next to her. "You said you'd be a good girl and go straight to bed."

"I'm never a good girl, you know that." She replied, placing her head against his shoulder. He cringed slightly, but didn't pull away much to her surprise. After a few moments he finally relaxed. "Thank you, Gaara."

"Hn."

She seemed to be angry by his reply. "BAKA! You gave me home, became my friend, and saved my life more than once. Why don't you at least say more than 'hn' when I thank you?"

"…" he didn't have an answer for that and knew she was laughing along with cursing at him inside at the fact that he didn't have one. He looked down at her, watching her smirking at him mockingly as she muttered 'Teme.'

"You bitch." He muttered, pressing his lips against hers. He kissed her slowly, savoring the taste of her sweet mouth, noting that small hint of spice that reflected her attitude. He was also demanding, deepening the kiss before she knew what was going on. Gentle was he not, but the aggressive edge of his kisses was like the sweet rush of adrenaline so dear to her.

He pulled back, seeing her frown. Thinking he did something wrong, he opened his mouth to state he had no idea why he had done that, but was shocked to feel himself being tackled down and his mouth attacked by her warm tongue. He laid there, in shock as she relished the taste of his mouth, memorizing every detail inside his mouth. Once he recovered, he immediately fought for dominance, rolling her over so that she wasn't on top of him. She started to laugh, causing him to stare at her in confusion.

"S-sorry, Gaara." She said, calming herself down from her sudden burst of laughter. "You just can't lose, can you?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck loosely.

He shook his head, lying down next to her. "No." he replied.

"Did you know today was my birthday?" She asked as the sun started to rise for a new day.

"You never told me…we'll go out to celebrate." He replied, listening to Shukaku stir. '_I'll have a new story to tell Naruto next time I see him. He'll be a little angry at me again though."_

Shukaku laughed, "**Yeah, but you're still a virgin!"**

Kira nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, gently nibbling at his skin. '_Not for long.'_

OOO

Well, Haunted is now finished. The sequel will come out once I've gotten some things sorted out. But there will be lots of cool stuff… betrayal, a new ally, and

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'I'M FINE?!' YOU DIED YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Kira yelled as she continued to yell at Gaara. (which means no Shukaku, maybe next time. Review please, and tell me if I should or shouldn't have Shukaku, the kinky and perverted one-tailed demon spirit!)

Well, thanks everyone who has been in this since the beginning, your reviews have been the ones that kept me typing.

R&R!!!

Fin


	15. SURPRISE!

Hello everyone! I was rereading Haunted, when I realized that I either ended it too soon or that I just didn't like my ending. Thus, I am going to be making an alternate ending so that this can go into the sequel much smoother. Plus, I want more reviews. XD

I thought that for my first fic, though, that I did a pretty sweet job with the amount of reviews and such that I got. Thus, I'm going to make _this_ one a lil longer and have the sequel as long as I can during the summer and into my next year of high school.

A quick thanks again to those who have been reviewing this whole time! Without you people, I might've just stopped it completely. You people… scratch that. I meant.

WITHOUT YOU AWESOME NARUTO FANS I WOULD HAVE JUST GIVEN UP MY PASSION TO WITHER AWAY INTO ABSOLUTE ABYSS!

Thank you.

Kira-chan

AND SO, HAUNTED CONTINUES!

(plz don't hit me if you know me personally. This is a SURPRISE!!! XD)


	16. Alternate Ending Part I Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Only my insanity which I hold dearly.

HERE IS THE ALTERNATE ENDING OF 'Haunted'!!!!!

For all of those who just can't get enough of this. Don't worry, there's still a sequel in store. And the alternate ending is more than one chapter long.

OOO

_**Gaara watched Kira from the only chair in the small room. The sound of her heart beating was slow and steady…too slow. **_

_**Gaara had defeated the gang mercilessly, using the poor souls to take his rage out on. The others had all been too frightened to even approach him, and he wouldn't let the unconscious kunoichi out of his sight.**_

_**They all rushed Kira back to Suna, where she was immediately placed in an intensive care room. They had tended the rest of her wounds, but she had lost too much blood already. Not only that, but the drug Osaka had injected her with seemed to have put her in a coma or dreaming state. They didn't know what he had used, so all they could do was wait and see if she would wake up while they tried to match the symptoms.**_

_**He stood up, walking over to the bed. Her skin was ghostly pale as she had had a rare blood type along with her blood trait, so they didn't have enough for a complete blood transfusion. Her heart was going to have to do most of the work.**_

_**He stared at her face, reaching a hand out and placing it on the top, left corner of her forehead where his kanji sing for 'love' had been placed.**_

_**Fight only for yourself and love only yourself.**_

"_**Bull shit." He muttered, turning back to his seat to sit back down. He leaned his head back against the wall that was there, rubbing his eyes before looking towards the bed again. 'Wake up…wake up…please. I don't want to feel alone.'**_

_**The insistent and haunting sound of her heart getting faster didn't help much either**_

_**Wait…getting faster? He looked up; watching the black screen as her heart beat began to return to normal speeds. He stood up, walking over to her side.**_

_**Kira's hand went up as she opened her eyes, causing him to dodge it slightly as it clutched into a tight fist. "Please tell me this isn't heaven, because I hate hospitals." She said, rubbing her eyes.**_

_**Gaara stared. "Why did you do that?"**_

"_**Hm?" she asked, turning her head to face him. "I always swing a fist when I wake up. It's a habit."**_

"_**Why did you stop me from killing him? It would have been easier and you wouldn't have been injured. It would have been the best way."**_

_**She yawned, "Because…I needed to kill him. It's a long story; I'll tell you once I have more strength."**_

"_**No. You'll tell me now. I have plenty of time, and you've been pushing it away from me for too long. Tell me, NOW."**_

_**She frowned, placing her hands on her lap. She took a few moments to sort her thoughts before beginning.**_

"_**As you know, I was Osaka's niece and the heir of my clan and home. But… the thought of a girl becoming the heir was…unfavorable to a few of the members. They began to work with ninjas outside of our walls, which was forbidden, and soon things got out of hand. My uncle was the leader. He wanted to rule over our clan and home." Her hands clenched into fists. "So he killed my father and decided to take the item that fueled our village with the power it needed to survive. But, he didn't know its location. Only those who were the leaders did." She looked to him, seeing that she had all of his attention. It was strangely comforting, despite his impassive outlook.**_

"_**Who would have thought a small child would be smart enough to take the gem before it could be stolen? Nobody, apparently, but I did. After seeing Osaka kill my father, he burned my mother alive along with our home while I was still in it. I escaped though by jumping out the third story window and ran ahead thinking maybe my parents could rest in peace if I kept the gem safe. But he saw me running, and stabbed me in the back."**_

_**She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her hospital clothes that they had changed her into. "He didn't know I had the gem, and left me thinking I'd die a slow and painful death. But I did have it, and although I did die…the gem brought me back." She reached her hand out. "Give me your hand."**_

_**Gaara moved over to her, cautiously holding out his hand. He had to top the urge to pull back as she took them and placed them on her chest. Her skin was cold, but as her hands radiated red as a red gem surfaced from under her skin, he could see and feel the gems warmth as it radiated with a powerful chakra. "This is what Osaka was after. This is what alienated me from others and allowed me to live."**_

_**Gaara stared at his hand before gently pulling away. "Shukaku had told me about your unusual chakra. As Kazekage, I'm supposed to take it away from you." He saw anger mixed with pain in her eyes, but more anger than anything. "But I won't. If you took away the gem, what would happen?"**_

"_**I'm not sure. The extraction might kill me since the gem's chakra is fused with mine."**_

"_**Then we won't try."**_

"_**Are you going to tell the others?" she asked, pressing a button on the bed that moved its position so she could sit up.**_

"_**No."**_

"_**Good." She looked around. "How long have I been out cold?"**_

"_**Almost three days."**_

_**She bit her lip, seeing the gifts she had received from her new friends. She wasn't used to people really caring, and found it annoying that people worried. "Have you been here the entire time?"**_

_**He nodded in response, going back to his chair.**_

"_**Oh…why?" she asked, confused on why anyone would do that. She had seen others do it, yes. But those people normally had family or were in a relationship of some sort. She had none of that.**_

"_**I didn't want you to feel alone when you woke up."**_

"_**Oh…" she said, nodding her head as though that movement would knock some sense into it.**_

OOO

"Oh…" She said, nodding her head as though that movement would knock some sense into it. She sat there, thinking for a few minutes before jumping up to her feet. "What about Osaka's body?"

"I already sent a few of our ninja to look at the ruins. They found nothing. He's dead. Lay back down." He ordered, but she only shook her head. She quickly grabbed her weapons and clothes. "What are you doing?" Gaara demanded as she quickly changed, not caring if he was watching her.

"He's not dead," she said quietly as she strapped her elbow blades to her waist and her kunai to her leg.

"_So you do remember me?" Osaka gave a laugh, "How nice. I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you who I was in detail."_

"_How did you-?"_

"_Survive? __**Same way as you did.**__ But, I couldn't go to another village and start over again like you could. And I can't get my revenge on the world that turned me down without that gem. Where is it!" he asked again, anger in his demanding voice._

Kira shook her head as she tried to assess what her uncle. How could he have survived the same way she did if she had the gem? Unless…

Gaara grabbed Kira's shoulder as she went to the window. "Where are you going and what are you doing?" he asked again, his eyes boring through hers.

"He's not dead, and if he was burned, there would be _something_ that proved he was dead. He told me that he survived the same way I did. I have to go to the temple."

"Temple?"

"No time to explain. Let go of me Gaara-sama." She said, the Sama in her statement showed that she was serious.

"Kina is at the mansion."

"I don't have time to get her. Besides, she can't help me against this opponent."

"Then I'm going with you."

She paused for a moment before nodding her head. "You're the Kazekage. I'd be punished if I left without orders anyways."

"Hn." He replied before grabbing his gourd and following her out the window.

A young nurse entered the room with a tray of food, dropping it when she found it empty. "DOCTOR!" she yelled as she hurried out of the room and downstairs. '_Why do ninjas always leave without notice?'_ she thought with irritation as she ran down the stairs.

OOO

"What is this temple that you spoke of?" Gaara asked as the two waited in a cave as a sandstorm raged outside. He had been smart enough to swipe a few supplies as they ran through the streets of Suna towards the exit.

"Do you know of the cat demon, Nibi? How it uses fire?"

"I have heard of it, yes. Its host was Yugito."

"Well, the first host of the Nibi was a man from my clan. He was the first member in our records, and started the small village that I grew up in. WE were dancers, which is why we're light on our feet. My full Name is Kira Kagura. Kina is a branch breed of the demon, Nibi; her lineage is from generations ago. But over the years her species has weakened."

Gaara's eyes widened slightly, "Your people were exiles."

"That was years ago. Stay on the topic, Gaara!" she said, furious that he would even mention that. "Because our ancestors felt in debt to the demon, we built a hidden temple under the village to hold celebrations such as marriages, baby showers, and even ceremonies for our ninjas. They also held dances, and there were dungeons with traps to test those who were coming of age. Within that temple, are the ancient items that my clan collected and treasured over the years, hidden in a secret chamber. The most important is the gem that I carry within my body."

"I understand, but I don't see how Osaka could still be alive."

"I'm getting to that." She said, looking out to see if the storm had lightened up. "If I remember correctly, the entrance can only be opened by the blood of those in the higher branches. Our blood is written on something when we're born. So Osaka, being the brother of the leader, and I both are able to open it."

"Have you been inside the temple?"

"Yes, but I don't remember very much about it since I moved to Suna. I tried to forget this place."

"That will be an advantage and a disadvantage if you know where we're going. Are we headed for the secret chamber?"

"Yes, there's an artifact that was affected by the gem."

"Is it a container that allowed the gem to spread its power and chakra thoughout the village?' Gaara questioned, being one to comprehend easily.

"Yes, but apparently some of that chakra and power is still inside the temple."

"Can you control it?"

"I'm pretty sure I can."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?"

Kira stood up, throwing some wood on the small fire they had built before settling down next to him. "Because he knows where the gem is now. With that information, he could probably use the temples artifacts as a weapon to get it. When he didn't know of its location, he wasn't able to since he didn't know where to target."

"I could have protected you long enough for you to heal completely."

She frowned, "I'm not sure what all of the items are and what that temple has. I wasn't going to endanger the village. Besides…I'm fine." She stated, angry that he thought she couldn't protect herself.

"Hn." He said, staring into the fire.

"…Gaara?"

"Hn?"

"Stop saying 'hn'."

"Hn." He replied, seeing her smirk as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep.

"**Take her."**

'_What?'_

"**Nothing… but just think about what you saw earlier in the room."**

'When she changed out of her hospital gown?… You're a strange demon, Shukaku." 

The demon cackled, '**Nice and firm.'**

'_SHUKAKU! NO!'_

'**Just remember what I said… she's yours, isn't she?"**

Gaara nodded, "Yes, she's mine."

OOO

When Gaara and Kira left a few hours alter, the sandstorm had gone as quickly as it had come. Within another few hours, they were back at the deserted village. Under the orders of Gaara, the dead bodies and skeletons that had been seen throughout the area had been buried in a graveyard not too far away. All that was left were the crumpling buildings that were still standing.

Kira led Gaara back towards the center to the building in which she had been held only days ago. It had been burnt down completely, caving in on itself.

The two ninja walked through the rubble, stopping when they came to a large pillar. Kira pushed it out of the way, brushing away the dirt to reveal a door that led underground. The door was made of a rock slab, covered by seals. Kira did a hand sign, muttering 'release' before carefully peeling them off. The seals looked fairly new.

Once the slab was uncovered, it turned out to have writing inscribed into its surface. Kira pointed to the very bottom, "It says that this is the temple of the Fire Cat clan, and that those who come to steal from us will be shown no mercy. In other words, without the blood of the main branch or its leaders, the traps and jutsus would be set off."

"The only way to get in is to have a main branch put their blood on the slab. It triggers a that nullifies the areas defense system" Gaara said, seeing Kira's name in the door… it was the last name on the long list.

"Correct." She said as she placed her hand on the blade of her weapon, slicing her palm open. She then placed her hand against the cold rock, her blood running through the cracks as the letters were filled in with blood. "Open." She said as her chakra and blood released and opened the slab door. She was about to walk down into the dark entrance when Gaara grabbed her shoulder.

"I'm going first. If he _is_ alive, he set traps. My sand will protect me, but your fire won't protect you."

She nodded, allowing him to go down first. "This place hasn't really been entered in awhile, so watch your step!" she yelled, before watching him fall and slide down the rocky slope. She didn't hear him yell, but there was a painful THUD as he landed at the bottom. "That…wasn't supposed to happen." She muttered, before carefully following after him.

OOO

hee hee… so how was that? The alternate ending isn't done yet! So just you wait. What will the two ninjas find inside the temple? Will they end up fighting for their lives? I hope so or else this would just be plain boring.

Well, I hope you liked that one. I just didn't like my last ending. So here's so more action for ya. R&R!!!

**Kagura is a type of dance ****referring to a specific type of ****Shinto**** theatrical dance. Once strictly a ceremonial art derived from kami'gakari ("oracular divination") and chinkon ("spirit pacification").**

I never thought I'd actually look something up for it, either.

ALSO!

DarkFoxFlame is my best friend. And she apparently doesn't like surprises. So she decided to hit me. EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFICALLY ASKED HER NOT TO! And you all probably saw it…so…. I thought I'd just embarrass the shit out of her by putting this. .

Ja-ne!


	17. Alternate Ending Part II: Chapter 16

I noticed many people don't like cliffhangers. Well, there's a reason I have them! It's because it leaves you guys in suspense. If you're in suspense, then you want to read and find out what really happens. Thus, you come back. I'm the writer, so I get to pick how it goes. Not to mention that I'm evil and love torture people.

_Anyways_, here's the second part of my alternate ending. How long it will actually be, I have no idea.

_OOO_

"I'm going first. If he is alive, he set traps. My sand will protect me, but your fire won't protect you."

_She nodded, allowing him to go down first. "This place hasn't really been entered in awhile, so watch your step!" she yelled, before watching him fall and slide down the rocky slope. She didn't hear him yell, but there was a painful THUD as he landed at the bottom. "That…wasn't supposed to happen." She muttered, before carefully following after him._

_OOO_

Gaara landed with a thud on his back on the cold stone floor. He heard Kira muttering something from the 'slide' that he had just fallen from, before the sound of another person sliding down reached his ears. He sat up, and was about to move out of the way when Kira flew out, landing on top of him and sending them both down to the ground. They rolled a few times before finally stopping a few feet away from an ancient looking door. Gaara was on top of Kira as their bodies were in a tangled yet compromising position, his face only a few centimeters from hers. He could feel her warm breath against his face, and her scent was almost overpowering to him as he saw her try to get his arm underneath her free. Moving her self up against his body, she managed to only get them somewhat untangled. "Gaara, your arm is stuck."

"I know."

"Can you move it?"

"Not really."

"You weigh a lot with that gourd on your back." She muttered, untangling their legs, which only allowed Gaara to use his legs so that he wasn't lying atop of her.

Kira stared at him as he lifted himself up with his legs, noticing something move around above them on the ceiling. '_What the hell is that?'_ she thought, before seeing a pair of cold, lifeless looking eyes boring through her. She shivered, looking away as Gaara finally pulled his arm out from under her. When she looked back, the creature was gone, but it had definitely been there. The only question was; what was it? An illusion? "Do you sense a strange chakra?" She asked Gaara as she sat up, rubbing a small bump on her head where she had bonked it against Gaara's. She ended up getting some of the sand from his sand armor off instead.

He shook his head before standing up and looking at the door they had landed in front of with interest, amazed at how ancient it looked. The room that they were in was empty save for the cylindrical pillars that stopped anything collapsing down and the door. The door was made out of stone, but it was a deep and dark color of red that was smooth to the touch. Instead of being cold, like it looked, it was warm as if it were alive itself. Kira walked over to it, taking the large stone locks and lifting them up heftily to unlock it. Once that was done, Gaara helped her push the giant stone door open, leading them into another room.

They walked silently inside, the red stone door behind them closing as torches lit up around them in a circular shape. The walls were a black stone, the floor beneath them a similar color but it was smooth like marble and had a hint of red in it. There were many different types of items and pieces of art decorating the area, giving it the look that you think of when you visit a museum. Every pillar had a painting depicting some sort of ancient story, and there were old weapons that looked brand new and unused, although a little dusty, each in weapon cases against one far side of the wall. There were no more doors, but separate passages with pictures of cats walking along the walls with such detail that they looked real. There was one item in the room that stood out, though. In the center, on a mini altar stood an ancient looking flute that was black in color. It had fire designs on it as well, and its glass case edges and holder looked to be made of gold.

Kira walked over to the case, carefully lifting up the glass before placing it on a velvet plush cushion that had been conveniently placed next to it. Her hand reached out and carefully picked up the flute, as though she might break it if she didn't hold it with the utmost care.

"Gaara, come stand close beside me. The room is going to shift and spin like it's a puzzle." She advised as she placed the instrument to her lips. Gaara walked over to her, and did as he had been instructed before Kira began to play. As the music echoed against the stonewalls of the room, the floor in front of them began to shift as it revealed another passage. The moment Kira stopped playing the flute, the movements stopped. "Come on, let's go." She said as she walked down the stairs and into the new passageway.

"How did that happen?" Gaara asked quietly as he followed her.

"I'm not sure, but the song I played is secret and was what triggered it." She replied as they exited to a new room. This room was completely different. There was no furniture, but if there was it was unseen due to the color. Everything was black and white, making them both stop so their eyes could adjust. Kira seemed confused as she cautiously took a few steps forward. "This isn't right. My people never only used black and white. There were always different colors to make it seem more alive." She said turning around. Their clothes stuck out painfully from the constant black and white, making them feel uneasy.

"Is this the secret chamber?" Gaara asked as he began to walk towards the center.

"Yes. At least, it's supposed to be. I don't see the stone slab that held the gem; it was right in front of you."

"It still is. Someone painted over it." Gaara replied as he placed a hand on the stone that had been hidden. Kira walked over to him, moving his hand from it before using her fire to burn off the paint. Writing similar to the writing on the entrance door was there, and Kira did a repeat of what she had done earlier as her blood filled in the letters.

She was about to open her mouth when they heard an inhuman screech from behind them. Gaara's sand lashed out at where it had come from, but the strange creature dodged it. "What is that?" Gaara asked as they watched another few of them appear from behind hidden objects. "They look human, but they're not."

Each of the creatures had the body and face of a man. But they had long claws and fangs, and were hunched over like animals as their long tongues hung from the side of their gaping mouths. They were rather large, and they're golden eyes were wild and gold, like a feral cats. "CATS!" Kira suddenly yelled out as she recognized the way their eyes were. A look of disbelief crossed her features as her fists clenched. "Osaka, how could you." She growled through grinding teeth as she turned her attention back to the stone. "Gaara, don't let them get to us. Make a wall of sand; they're of the Fire Cat Clan. They move too fast for your sand to defend us both." She said, and he nodded as the wall she asked for was made. The sound of fists and claws striking the sand was heard, but nothing made it through.

Kira looked ahead of them, seeing a figure form from the constant black and white. Osaka was grinning evilly as he studied her angered features. "Do you like my pets, Kira-kun?" he asked, motioning to the wall Gaara had built. "It took a few tests in the lab before they finally started to become useful."

"You bastard!" She yelled at him, fire sparking dangerously on the ground around her as she approached him. "How could you do that to your own comrades, your friends, your _family!_"

"Sacrifices have to be made to get what you want. So I decided to sacrifice them. Is that so bad?"

"They're not even human anymore." She growled, claws growing on her own hands as her canines grew and eyes changed. Gaara was using his chakra to take the minerals from the earth floor to create more sand as it swirled protectively around them both.

Osaka didn't seem too alarmed as his own kekkai genkai traits appeared. "Do you really think you can kill me so easily?" he asked, reaching into his black and white cloak.

"I don't have to think. My instincts will be the thing that tears you limb from limb." She replied, crouching down into a cat-like stance before disappearing. Osaka's eyes flickered back in forth before Kira's claws sliced through the front of his clothes.

Gaara saw him about to pull something from his cloak, and lashed out his sand to grab the man's arm. "What are you hiding?" Gaara asked as Kira stopped next to him. Gaara's sand tugged on Osaka's arm, forcing him to release what he had as it began to fall to the floor.

"A button?" Kira said questioningly as the control with a red button fell to the floor face down. The moment the button clicked, a high-pitched screeching noise bounced off the walls as everything began to change back to their original color. Screeches from the creatures on the other side could be heard as the sound nearly deafened them. Kira's hands went to her ears as she yelled in pain, her hearing too sensitive for it as Osaka placed something in his ears to block out the sound. Gaara's sand absorbed the sound for him before the sand lashed out at the enemy, but Osaka was too quick to be taken out that easily. He rolled on the ground, throwing kunai at Kira to distract Gaara before reaching up and taking out a sword that had been hidden by the black and white.

"Kira probably knows this item." He said as he jumped away from the bullets of sand. "It was crafted by her father. Forged so that it brings out the power of this temple _and_ that gem." He said, pointing the sword at Kira, who was standing up weakly. Her eyes stared at the blade, before she snarled and lunged. Osaka swung the sword down, but Kira clashed the weapon with one of her elbow blades. It was the red one. Fire blasted out from the blade, forcing Osaka to shift his weight to dodge the attack before having to jump into the air as Kira's black elbow blade swung at his legs, a black colored fire singing his skin.

"You took your fathers other weapons too?" Osaka asked as he kicked her away, sending her towards a weapon rack. Gaara ran over and caught her, sand cushioning them so neither was injured from the impact.

Gaara studied Osaka. "Kira, let's work together this time." He said into her ear as she nodded and stood back up. Gaara's sand came up from the ground behind Osaka, catching him off guard as it grabbed the sword and his arm. The man pulled on his arm, but Gaara only tightened his grip. Osaka yelled out as Kira came up and tore an X across his back. He turned, using his free hand to slice her arm with his claws before wincing as Gaara clenched his fist, "Sand Burial."

Sand tore apart the man's arm, blood staining Kira and Osaka's clothing as the sand withdrew, the sword dropping to the ground. Kira reached for it, but Osaka kicked her in the face before grabbing it with his other hand. Gaara's sand lurched forward, but the enemy took Kira's shirt collar and jumped back.

A pain wrapped itself around Gaara's heart as Osaka took the sword and cut across Kira's front, slicing open the area where the gem was. But before the man could do anything else, Kira muttered a few words before a blast of red chakra sent him flying away. The gem in Kira's chest moved to her forehead as her wounds healed. Gaara ran over to her, watching as Osaka stood up again. Blood dripped from the man's arm and head as he looked up at the two murderously.

"Kira, do you remember what your father looked liked?" he asked, lifting the sword up and placing the tip at the wall behind him.

She glared at him, "Yes. I also remember what he looked like when he was killed."

"I bet you wouldn't recognize him anymore than." Osaka replied as he stabbed the sword into the wall, the temple reacted to it as an incredibly large creature broke through Gaara's sand wall, causing him to quickly cover it again before any more of them could get through.

The creature walked over to Osaka like an obedient pet as it awaited orders. Osaka pulled out the sword from the wall before tapping it on the creature. It doubled in size as the chakra and power from the temple was transferred from the sword and into its body. "Gaara, allow me to introduce you to the great leader of the Fire Cat Clan, Kaname." He said before the creature let out a wild cat like roar.

Kira stood there, paralyzed as a clear liquid fell from her face and onto the floor. She looked at the creatures face, seeing a small resemblance of the kind face of the one who had raised and loved her.

"Father?" she asked as the creature ran at her, claws ready to strike.

"Kira!" Gaara yelled as his sand raced at Kaname, wrapping around him as it stopped him from moving.

"Dad?" she said again as Kaname's muscles tensed as he continued towards her.

"DADDY!" She yelled, taking out her elbow blade and striking her father in the forehead. Kaname howled in pain as he pulled away from the sand and Kira, blade stuck in his head as he fell to the ground. It only took a moment for him to recover though before turning back to her.

He lunged at her again, but her shocked state stopped her from moving out of the way. She closed her eyes, but the attack never made it. Gaara had shot out his sand, using a never-ending current to slam it against the wall. The sound of bones breaking was heard as the pressure of the two objects crushed Kaname's body, killing him.

Osaka started to laugh as the panting Gaara moved his sand back to him. "My Kira, are you really so weak that you can't kill your own father?" he asked as he walked over to the dead body.

"…" Kira didn't reply, but instead took in a deep breath. "Thank you, Gaara." She said, turning towards Osaka. "But this time, I'm going to fight him on my own."

"Hn." Gaara replied.

"But I want you to kill those creatures on the other side of that sand wall. Death is probably better than being like that."

"I will."

Osaka smiled, "How cute. Kira is going to try to kill me all by herself like a big girl."

Kira put away her single blade, before the gem on her forehead began to glow. "You have done too much. You've destroyed our home, killed and experimented on our people, transformed my father into a horrifying monster, and worse of all," she crouched down into her cat-like stance. "You took away my life. Now I'm going to take it back."

_OOO_

I have finals now. So I won't have the next chapter up until after school is over. I'm busy, and am cramming everything into my brain for almost a month now for my AP exam in science.

R&R please. I'm trying to get 100 reviews! Please allow me that one little thing.

Ja-ne


	18. Alternate Ending Part III: Chapter 17

Okies, Im not going to talk much this time. Here is the next chapter, please enjoy

_OOO_

"**I want to fight." **Shukaku growled as Gaara ran to the wall of sand.

'_You're too big to bring out.' _Gaara mentally replied before he held out a hand. "Sand Shuriken!" he yelled, yelps coming from the surprised creatures on the other side.

"**Then let me take over your body."**

'_I don't trust you.' _Gaara moved to the end of the sand, peering through a hole to count how many were there.

"I WANT OUT!" Shukaku roared, pounding into Gaara's fragile mind. He clutched his head, breathing becoming slightly labored. 

'_You'll get your blood, but we can't hurt Kira.'_ He answered, taking a step back as one of the clan members tried to get him through the small holes.

"**I won't even touch her. You wouldn't let me, anyways.'** The demon promised. He would do almost anything if there were a chance to kill. He hadn't come out in so long…

'_I'll perform the forced sleep jutsu. But if we get hit, I'll wake up automatically.'_ Gaara put his hands together.

"**Just let me kill!"** Shukaku screeched with enthusiasm as Gaara's body went limp. But before the Kazekage could collapse to the floor, he stood up again in an animalistic way. He opened his eyes, but instead of aquamarine, they were black with golden pupils. Shukaku grinned, sand surrounding him dangerously. He raced at the sand wall, blasting through it and killing the creature from a few moments ago with a blast of sand-like bullets.

"**Come on everybody! I wanna kill, kill, KILL!" **he roared, spinning on his feet to dodge an attack aimed at his throat.** "Missed me!" **He cackled, swinging Gaara's arms as the sand around him came alive.** "Bring it!"**

_OOO_

Osaka removed the blade from Kaname's skull, examining it for a moment before tossing it to the side. He turned to his niece who was glaring at him with murderous intent. "Fine then," He said, " Let's begin."

Kira crouched down before jumping against one of the pillars and pushing off to run on one wall. "Let's make this a fair fight and only rely on our chakra and jutsus. No weapons." She yelled, making a few hand signs before firing fireballs from her mouth.

Osaka leapt away from the attack, racing over to try to cut her off. "Fine by me." He replied, punching his fists towards her as fire took form and raced towards her. She dodged the attack by leaping from the wall and landing in the center of the room before turning around and throwing shuriken in the form of flames at him. He countered with the same attack before pausing when he heard an unfamiliar voice yelling not too far away. Kira saw this opening, and lunged at him with her claws exposed as her nails dug into his flesh, leaving a claw shaped cut in his chest. She added fire to the attack, scorching his skin as he let out a hiss filled with pain. "Wench." He growled, grabbing onto her shoulder before she could make an escape. His own claws dug into her before he spun them around, slamming her back into the wall behind them.

The blow knocked the wind out of her and caused her to cough up blood. She lifted her head, glaring back at him before kicking her feet out and hitting him in the gut. He doubled over, cursing under his breath before her foot made contact with his face, sending him into and through one of the many stone pillars.

"_Where did that strength come from?" _ Osaka murmured as he weakly stood up. He soon found the answer though as he looked up at Kira, the gem glowing brilliantly on her forehead as it fueled her chakra. The wounds on her shoulder were healing already, but she seemed unaware of her increasing power as she gasped for air.

'_I need to move faster.'_ She took in mentally before smiling, fangs bearing, as the yelling of Shukaku ceased. She had never seen or heard the demon, but from how Gaara had described him, she had figured it out. She only hoped that the demon wouldn't go out of control and attack her as well.

Kira found her balance and immediately went into a series of hand signs. "Fire Element: Flame Strings!" she yelled as she outstretched her hands. Her fingers danced as fire flew from the tips, turning into what looked to be chakra strings, but instead were made of fire and looser as they were unattached to another object. She threw her arms at him as the strings spat ember sparks. Osaka, having not seen this jutsu, could only try to avoid the attack as he tried to slip by them and towards her.

"Gotcha." She mumbled, seeing that he had stepped into her range. She clenched her fists, but instead of her fingers bending into her palm they tugged on the strings as she left them straight and pointing towards her. The Flame Strings were pulled, and moved in towards Osaka, wrapping around him as she pulled her arms to her body.

He yelped in pain as the Flame Strings burned through his cloak and sizzled his skin. He glared at her, managing to make a hand sign before blowing a series of fire bullets from his mouth. She quickly released the jutsu and ran out of the attacks trajectory path. Once free, he did his own hand sign, creating two clones. Kira frowned, not being one to like clones. She hated math, and more enemies meant more calculations.

Osaka and his two clones ran at Kira, zigzagging as they each did a few hand signs. "Fire Element: Triple Fire Whip Jutsu!" they yelled in unison as three whips appeared in their hands. They then split up, one in the middle, one to the left, and the last to the right. Kira cursed under her breath as one of the whips narrowly missed her cheek. Soon she was dancing around as she twisted her body in inhuman ways to dodge the fire whips. She knew that jutsu, and if just one of those whips managed to wrap around her she'd be immobile and in a lot of pain.

She spotted a Bo staff on the ground, and made a grab for it. She felt it's cool metal in her hand, and picked it up before putting it in the three whips way. Each of the whips wrapped around it, and she gave a quick jolt as the whips came from their hands. She then spun the Bo staff; the fire whips spinning with it and striking the two clones that he had created. They both fell to the ground before disappearing with a POP. Seeing that the whips were now a threat, Osaka cancelled his jutsu and took a small leap from her. He reached into his cloak, grabbing onto all of his weapons before hurtling them at her. Kira tried to use the staff to block them, but it wasn't really her weapon, and she had to drop to the ground in order to dodge all of them.

'_This is getting annoying. It's a wonder that I still have plenty of chakra. He looks to be tiring out, though.' _She raised her head, watching him carefully as he circled around her. He was panting slightly, and the burns and wounds that he had received looked painful and were slowing him down considerably. '_Wait! I have chakra still because I'm in the temple. I'm such a baka...why didn't I just use the temple's chakra in the beginning?'_ she mentally slapped herself before sitting up. "Well, if I had just killed him I wouldn't have had _so_ much fun."

Osaka raised an eyebrow at her statement, and watched her movements carefully as she stood up. His eyes followed her feet and hands, looking for any signs of the beginning of an attack. Kira raised her hand, palm out as the cut from earlier dripped blood on the floor. Confused, he watched cautiously as she took one finger and wiped the blood from her hand and drew a triangle of blood on her forehead around the gem. Almost immediately a reaction occurred, and the gem sucked in the blood as black writing took its place.

Osaka sensed the chakra within the temple shifting its current as it surrounded the kunoichi, completely engulfing her in a swirl of power. Her hair came free as it flew out wildly, her claws and fangs growing even more. The chakra was a combination of red, black, yellow, and orange; like a roaring fire.

Osaka reached for his sword, taking it into his hand with his uninjured arm and throwing it at Kira. Kira was only able to partially dodge it, the swords blade cutting a deep wound on her right shoulder before thudding into the wall behind her and pinning her sleeve and arm. She gasped, mostly out of pain before it disappeared as the chakra soothed her body. Her left hand went to her right shoulder and she took hold of the swords handle, tugging it free and brandishing the weapon, tip pointed to the ground. Blood dripped down her arm and the blade as she held it in her right hand. "That hurt you bastard."

Osaka panicked. He had no other weapons; throwing the sword had left him weaponless. Cursing under his breath, he ran at Kira with incredible speed, dipping to the left and then right before going towards her throat, using her injured shoulder as an advantage.

Kira merely swung her injured arm, punching him in the face before swinging the sword with a snarl. Osaka ducked, sword splitting a few blond strands of hair before swiping his claws at her…

A scream echoed against the walls and throughout the temple as Osaka shrunk away from Kira on the floor, gripping the stub that was left where his hand had been moments ago. With the combination of Gaara's sand destroying his left arm, he was now defenseless as his right hand fell to the floor in a bloody mess.

He backed away from Kira, whom had a dark and wild look in her eyes as she watched him. She reminded him of a crazed predator, and he was her prey. Blood dripped to the floor as his vision began to blur from the loss of blood. Kira started to approach him, only stopping when he gave another scream. "Get away from me!"

She paused, blinking for a moment before her face scrunched up in a disgusted sneer. "NO. You're going to die!" She roared, running at him.

Osaka scrambled to his feet, turning around to run away when he bumped into another person's body. Shukaku was still in control, golden demon eyes glaring hungrily as sand had formed most of his tail and face. Osaka was paralyzed at the sight of the huge fangs, and turned his head to see Kira swing her father's sword. Then… nothing.

_OOO_

Shukaku stared at the headless body of Osaka before turning his attention to Kira. She was panting and her eyes were an intense color of gold and red as she glared at the body. She tensed, before kicking the body away and through a pillar. It stopped though as it slammed into the wall, making a huge crater-like hole.

She looked up at Shukaku, realizing that he was staring at her. She cautiously walked up to him, and he growled lightly at her. She stopped, but her expression didn't change as he smiled insanely at her.

"Killing is fun, isn't it?" He asked before his sand launched itself at her, grabbing her as it slammed her body against the wall. She winced, spitting up blood as she coughed. She looked up, and snarled before bursting her chakra at the sand. The fire like chakra succeeded in releasing her, and she quickly moved away from the sand before it could grab her again. 

"When you kill the person that ruined your life, yes; it is fun." She replied, cautiously watching him as the sand at his feet gently floated around him.

"**My name is Shukaku. You are Kira Kagura."**

She cocked a brow at him, "Yes."

"**I want some fun." **He stated as his sand formed an arm. Once the sand made body part was made, he ran at her, swinging it at her. Kira placed her feet against the wall behind her and launched off of it and out of his way, but he simply moved his feet and changed the course of his attack. The demon's arm struck her back, sending her flying across the floor where she rolled and skidded to a stop. "**Don't die. I'm not done playing." **A small hint of a whine was in his voice before he laughed.

"Fun's over." She replied, and placed a hand on the ground before pushing herself back to her feet. She turned to him, and lowered down into a horse stance. Her hands moved like lightning as she made hand signs. The chakra built up in the temple came back to her again, and Shukaku shook with anticipation and glee. But instead of a deadly jutsu like he had hoped for, Kira did a simple henge jutsu; smoke appearing as she took the form of the same kind of cat as Kina. Shukaku gave a screech of irritation before spitting sand bullets at her. Kira raced across the floor, chakra flames coming up as she jumped over the sand covered path. But Shukaku raised his arms, sand springing in the air and grabbing her before slamming her small body to the ground mercilessly. This time, she didn't get up.

Shukaku grinned; feeling satisfied that Kira was no longer a threat to him. He walked over to her, kneeling down and placing a sand hand over her and clenched his fist to rid of her body and take her blood. He laughed, until the cat clone of Kira disappeared with a POP! **"No fair!" **he yelled as he turned his head, the real Kira behind him as she planted a paper bomb under his tail and jumped away. Gaara had told her of this attack that Naruto had done, and she knew that her it wouldn't be fatal, but should weaken the demon, if only a little. Shukaku's eyes shut as the explosion from the paper bomb struck, sending him a few feet away from where the clone had been. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer gold as Gaara's aquamarine returned. He looked around, seeing the dead Cat Clan members and a headless Osaka. He saw Kira stand up shakily, the gem on her forehead fading as it stopped releasing chakra. He began to walk towards her, but she only took a few steps back as she cautiously examined his face. "Gaara…?" she asked, not sure if this was a trick.

Gaara frowned, nodding, as he stood there, confused. "What's wrong?" he asked, reaching an arm towards her before realizing that he was still in partial demon form. His eyes widened as he figured out what had occurred. "Did Shukaku attack you?"

Kira only nodded, placing a hand over where the demon had probably broken one of her ribs. "Yes… I'm guessing that wasn't part of the deal?"

Gaara shook his head furiously as he started to scream at the damned demon mentally inside his head. He walked over to her, moving the hair from her face as he quickly took in her condition. But she only batted his hands away as she slowly relaxed. "Let's go home. Temari and Kankuro are probably pissed at us for leaving like that."

"Are you mad?" he asked. The last thing he wanted was for her to hate him. He would beg her not to hate him, not after he tried so hard to make her care for him.

Kira walked over to the dead body of what had been her father, placing her hand on his head.

"You know, I don't remember much about my father." She said as she bent her head down. "I don't remember much about my mother, either. I blamed myself for their death because I thought that maybe if I had been born a boy the group that started this mess wouldn't have formed." She walked over to where her elbow blade had been tossed and picked it up. "I guess I was wrong." She glared at the dead body of Osaka. "It's because of sick and crazy bastards like my uncle that my family was turned into this." She looked to Gaara. "Can you help me find the rest of my clan?"

Gaara frowned, puzzled at her response to his question before the explanation dawned on him. If she wanted him to help her, even after his demon had tried to kill her, then she wasn't angry and she didn't hate him.

He walked over, picking up the other elbow blade and holding it out to her. "Yes."

_OOO_

NOT DONE!!!! I AM NOT DONE EVEN THOUGH THIS SEEMS LIKE AN ENDING IT IS NOT!!!

Hee hee, no I still have at least one more chapter to the alternate ending. How the heck can I end this without a little make out scene? No no no, that just wouldn't do.

School is over, so that means more time for me! . Sooo…yeah. More time.

Holy crap this didn't end in a cliff hanger. Are you happy now? Jeez, you guys are a bunch of whiners. . Just Kidding!

Cept you FireFoxFlame. You are a HUGE whiner! Lmao

Anyways it wont be long till the next chapter is up so check by again soon!


	19. Alternate Ending Part IV: Chapter 18

For those of you who have been wondering, yes I am still alive. I've just been SUPER busy with a whole bunch of stuff. But I finally got this typed up, even with a bad wrist that I sprained a few days ago. You'd be amazed how annoying it is to type with a wrapped hand. Anyways, here's the next chapter. It's been awhile, and this chapter doesn't have any _real_ importance besides... well you will have to read to find out. Here's the next part of the alternate ending of Haunted.

-o-o-o-

Gaara walked through the gap between the two stone walls that was the entrance to Suna, Kira walking beside him.

"Let's go to the infirmary first to get your bones and our injuries healed." Gaara stated, turning towards the path that led to the building.

"Alright. Temari would be pretty pissed if we got there in this condition, anyways." Kira agreed as she followed him. '_I have no idea what he means by 'our' injuries. The only thing he might have is a sore butt from falling down that slide.'_

-o-o-o-

"What the hell were you two thinking?" Temari yelled as Gaara and Kira entered the front doors two hours later. The four pig-tailed sand kunoichi looked to have been worried as she continued to yell at them… or more so at Kira since she silently scolded Gaara. To Temari, he may be the Kazekage, but he was still her little brother. "Do you have any idea how worried we were when we got a message reporting both of you were gone?"

"Temari…" Kira said as Kina hopped into her arms. "I know we caused a small panic, but we're both too tired right now. Can you chew us out later and call the search teams off?"

Temari smiled, walking over and hugging the smaller ninja. Kira was glad they had gotten most of their wounds healed, or this would have been more painful than a hug from Temari already was. "I'm glad you woke up. We thought we lost you. Kankuro was sulking about his puppet room never being clean again." She released Kira and pointed an accusing finger at Gaara. "You help Kira into bed. You have work to do after you've rested." She smirked, "Got it?

Gaara frowned, "You're neither my mother nor my Kage. _I_ give the orders."

"You're right, but I am your _BIG_ sister. Now go." She said, pointing the accusing finger towards the stairs as though they were being punished to their rooms like children.

"Yes, mommy." Kira mumbled before heading upstairs. Kina was in her arms and purring happily.

Gaara was about to follow when Temari gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your clothes are covered in blood, and so are Kira's. I want to know what happened _very_ soon. The Konoha ninja are still here, and aren't able to leave without that paperwork finished."

Gaara shrugged her hand irritably from his shoulder, "I'll get on it after I've rested."

Temari shook her head, walking into the kitchen as Gaara walked away. Shikamaru was sitting with a shoji board in front of him on a small table, waiting. "I told you they were fine." He said, bored as she sat down across from him.

"I know." She replied, moving her piece and smiling as he blinked, confused on her move. "Naruto and the others will come back sooner or later."

-o-o-o-

'_Do you have any idea how pissed I am at you?'_ Kina asked, demeanor changing as Kira entered her bedroom. The small cat swatted Kira's head with a small and padded paw before leaping onto the desk filled with the get well gifts from the hospital.

"You couldn't come. There wasn't much time."

"_A note could have helped." _Kina retaliated with a flick of her tail.

"I got to see Father."

Kina's ears twitched, "_Kaname? But he was killed…"_

"That's what I thought too. I'll tell you the story later. I need to clean up and sleep." Kira said before walking into her bath. She filled the tub to the rim with water before giving it a bubbly surface. She stripped out of her clothes, knowing the stains weren't worth it before sliding in. She closed her eyes, simply letting the steaming hot water soothe and loosen her muscles. Kina entered, but stayed clear from the water as Kira lowered her head underwater. After a few minutes, she surfaced for air and rested her head against the back of the tub before opening her eyes to meet a pair of aquamarine.

"Uwaa!" she yelped in surprise before lowering down into the bubbly water. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked as she glared at him.

Gaara blinked…_'Uwaa?'_ "The door was open, and you didn't answer when I called your name."

Kina had conveniently disappeared from the bathroom, and Kira took note to strangle the cat when she found her later. She couldn't really blame him; she _had _been underwater.

Gaara turned his head towards the shelf, reaching over and taking the shampoo bottle from it before handing it to her.

"What?"

He frowned, squirting a small blob on his hands before lathering it and placing them on her head, running his fingers through her golden locks. She frowned as well, not really liking the fact that he was in the bathroom while she was naked in the tub, but allowed it. She was like a cat; she loved having her head rubbed. She leaned back again, closing her eyes when instructed to as he rinsed out the shampoo and put in conditioner.

"Gaara…"

"Hn?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I want to talk to you, and you're taking too long on your own." He replied bluntly.

She laughed. He certainly had a sensible reason, although odd. "I'll finish on my own, thank you." She said, shooing his hands away as she leaned forward to rinse her hair out. She froze as a chill ran up her spine, despite the hot water as Gaara's hands explored her bare back, tracing a large scar.

"From Osaka?" he asked, rubbing the skin with callused fingers.

"Mhmm.." she said, melting back into the small backrub. He finished too soon, though, and stood up before walking out to allow her to get dressed in peace. Kira, not really wanting him to come in again while she was still undressed, quickly scrubbed the remaining blood from her skin before drying off and pulling on a pair of loose black pants and a red tank. She then reached into her cabinet, grabbing a hair brush and walking out. She frowned when she saw him going through her desk again, sifting through the sheets of music and sketches.

She walked over to him, opening her mouth to speak when a piece of paper was thrust in her face. "Play this on your flute."

She blinked, looking at the small sheet of music of the short and unfamiliar song. This wasn't hers, so he must've brought it. "Fine." She said, ruffling her hair as it fell down the middle of her back before reaching into the already opened drawer and taking out the instrument. She moved his hands so that he was holding it for her, and flicked on a small lamp. "What's the song?"

"I don't know. Just play it." He ordered.

She raised an eyebrow questioningly, but nodded before she placed the flute to her lips and played. The song was sad, as though the musician was lonely, haunted even by things that they couldn't control. Darkness shrouding their world and mind, giving them nothing and no one to lean on or look forward to through life. But just as it was ending, the song sped up a bit, and the melody was content; sadness gone. With the song over, Kira put the flute away. "Why did you want me to play that song?"

"It was a solo from the festival we missed. Temari said you would have liked it."

"I did, but I wish you hadn't gone through my belongings like that. If I wanted people to see them, I would have hung them up or something."

"Why not?"

"Because…damn it, I just don't want to." She replied, walking back over to him. "Is that all? We've done a lot today…" she yawned, "and I'm tired."

"No." he said, sand going to her and wrapping itself around her.

"Gaara…" she said warningly as he pulled her towards him. "I'm too tired to fight or spar tonight."

"Then don't fight." He replied, placing a hand on the curve of her neck as his other hand tugged on her waist against his body. He leaned forward, claiming her lips in a gentle kiss. Kira simply stood there, shocked that _he…_SUBAKU NO GAARA, 'Mr. I only love myself', had made the first move. When his grip on her waist tightened, she didn't hesitate to return the sweet kiss, nibbling on his lower lip as he fell back to lean against the wall.

Gaara's tongue traced her lips before sliding into her mouth when she opened it slightly, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth. She was sweet and spicy with the taste of a raging fire all at once. It was…addicting.

Kira, not being one to like being dominated, carefully placed her hands on his chest. When he didn't flinch like he normally did to human contact, she ran her hand up and through his flame red hair. "_Flame red…ha_." She thought before tackling his tongue with hers. They battled for a few minutes before finally pulling apart as she rested her head on his chest.

"Gaara…"

"Hn?"

'_God, stop with the fucking 'hn'.' _"I'm going to bed now." She said, running a hand again through his hair and ruffling it before stepping away. "You should rest too. You look more tired than normal."

"'Than normal'… you know I'm unable to fall asleep."

"Remember when those ninja came and you stayed with me as though you thought I couldn't take care of myself? You can do that again, if you like."

Gaara nodded, feeling a set of paws on top of his head. "Hello Kina." He said, reaching a hand up and taking the cat from atop of him and into his arms.

Kina meowed in reply, purring as she allowed him to rub her soft head.

"It's strange how she's sweet one moment, and the next she could be trying to fry you." He mumbled, walking to the bed where Kira was and placing the cat down. "I'll be back. I have to speak with Temari."

"Hn." She replied mockingly, laying down and curling into a ball.

-o-o-o-

"How did it go?" Naruto asked with a sly grin across his face as Gaara exited the room. Jiraiya was standing behind him, fumbling to put away a pad of paper.

Gaara knitted his brow, holding out a hand. "Give it to me." He demanded.

Jiraiya put on an innocent face, but for him it wasn't so innocent. "What? But it's only research! I need it for my next book."

"Give it to me." He repeated, cork to his gourd giving a warning POP as it came off of his gourd.

"Fine, fine." He replied, waving his hands in mock defeat before reaching into his pocket and taking out a pad of paper. "Here."

Gaara snatched it away and placed it in his pocket. "Where's Temari?"

"In the kitchen playing Shoji with Shikamaru. Knock before entering." The blond replied as Gaara started to walk away. When the Kazekage was out of hearing shot, Naruto looked at the perverted Saanin. "You gave him the wrong notepad, didn't you!"

"Maybe…" Jiraiya said with a grin on his face before he gave a perverted laugh and walked away in the opposite direction.

-o-o-o-

I have just one more chapter to do. It should be a little bit more about the Kagura cat clan and just what that red chakra is. But you guys won't really find out what it all is until the sequel. Sorry again for the lack of update, but I've just been REALLY busy this summer.


	20. Alternate Ending Part IIV: Chapter 19

Hey guys! Here's the last chapter of my alternate ending! It's funny to me… it's done. And it only took me about... 9 months?

-o-o-o-

Gaara didn't find Temari in the kitchen, but in the living room. She was sitting comfortably with her head in Shikamaru's lap as the male jounin played against Kankuro.

'_I didn't know Kankuro played…' _mused Gaara as he entered and sat down in the dark brown colored sofa chair. "You wanted something, Temari?"

"I want you to tell me what happened." Temari said, getting to her point. She wasn't the kind of person to beat around the bush.

Gaara frowned, but have a detailed of an explanation about his and Kira's battles in the hidden temple. "Osaka is now beheaded, and there is probably some sort of lab in the temple that we'll have to find later." He finished, leaning back in his chair as his sister took in the information. Shikamaru was listening as well as Kankuro, but both were silent as Temari chewed the inside of her cheek before nodding.

"Alright, as long as you two are okay and the enemy dead, I'm fine with it. But I have one question." She watched Shikamaru take out another of Kankuro's pieces. "Kira's odd chakra. What is it, and what are we going to do about it?"

Shikamaru finally took a turn in the conversation, "Did you sense any of the chakra that she possesses inside of the temple?"

He nodded, "In the beginning, I did sense something. But she did something that seemed to absorb all of it into the gem hidden in her body."

Shikamaru gave an irritated scowl. "How troublesome… You said Kira's last name was Kagura. The Kagura Clan… doesn't that name ring a bell?"

"They were a clan of exiles. They had done something inhumane and were banned from Suna." Gaara stated, staring at a cabinet of scrolls. "But I don't remember for what, exactly."

"Isn't it strange that her last name was unknown to the entire village of Suna until now? There's a possibility she might be trying to hide something from everyone."

Temari sat up from Shikamaru's lap, "You are correct that none of our files or records show a last name for Kira, but she has never done anything to the village with bad intentions. Only help by doing her missions and being a regular ninja."

Gaara stood up and walked over to the cabinet, "Temari, I want you to see what you can find out about the Kaguras." He said, opening the cabinet and taking out a scroll, "They were exiled a few decades before the last ninja war about fifty years ago."

She sighed, standing up and taking the scroll from him. "Yes, Kazekage-sama. I'll get on it right away." She mumbled, taking a few more from the small cabinet, "But what do you think Kira will do if she finds out we're trying to uncover what she's hiding?"

"I'll keep an eye on her." He said monotonously as he headed to the stairs.

Shikamaru defeated Kankuro in their game, again. "Be careful, Gaara-sama. There was probably a reason why we don't know anything about this. The only people who probably remember them are dead or very old." He gave a yawn. "And it'd be a drag to do something you'd regret."

Gaara glanced at the lazy nin, giving a small nod before heading up the stairs.

-o-o-o-

Kira waited in her bed until she heard nothing outside her room. Once all noise ceased, she sat up. "Kina." The small cat lifted its head in reply. "Pack anything we might need if we were to run off and put it under the bed."

Kina stood up, tilting her head to the side_. "Why? We finally have nothing to worry about."_

She shook her head, "We're not even supposed to be within a five miles radius of Suna. They probably know who I am. We _always _have to worry about our safety here."

"_Gaara wouldn't allow them to kick us out."_

"Just do it. It's for an emergency escape. Like the ones we used to have when we were younger."

Kina gave a huff, jumping off the bed. _"The chances of them finding anything are still slim."_

"I'm not taking any chances." Kira stated as she lay back down, placing her forearm above her head. Her red elbow blade was in her hand, a faint glow emitting from the chakra infused metal.

If the village people were to find out a person like her was living in their home, they'd immediately try to get rid of her. Even now, Gaara had to make sure to never mess up, or he might tarnish the trust he had worked so hard to gain as their Kazekage. He might try to protect her, too. But she wouldn't allow it. They'd just go back to hating him, and she wouldn't be able to bear that guilt. She'd just have to try to make sure nobody found out, and if they did, there were plenty of other villages out there. It wouldn't be too hard to resettle. She'd just have to change her appearance after becoming a missing nin.

She turned, burying her head in her pillow and placing the weapon under it. She'd lived in Suna, a place that she was supposed to hate, for so long. Leaving was something she just couldn't do. It was her home.

She cursed under her breath, "No use in stressing out now. I'll worry about that later. I don't need to start jumping to conclusions." She mumbled, before tensing as a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned her head, seeing aquamarine and red.

"I thought you were going to sleep." His monotone voice said as he sat down.

She moved her body so that she was lying on her back, facing him. "I had to tell Kina what happened. I was just about to fall asleep." She lied, rubbing her eyes with false sleep.

"Hn." He replied, taking his hand from her shoulder. "Kira, do you care for me?"

"Of course I do!" Kina came up from under the bed.

Gaara gave a nod, going silent as he stared out the window. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed before he finally spoke again. "Would you ever betray me?" He had been betrayed so many times. Lied to without hesitation so often, it was hard to tell when people were being serious, or just trying to hurt him.

Kira moved again so that her head rested in his lap. "Why the hell would I lie about that?" She asked, closing her eyes as fatigue finally started to take over.

"I just want to know." He said, irritated that she had avoided the answer.

She opened one eye, staring up at him. "No, I would never betray you." She moved back to her old spot on the bed, curling into a protective tight ball. "I would never betray the ones I love. Only a heartless cur would ever even think of that."

Gaara felt a lift of relief. Kira was his. He was going to make her his 'special person', as Naruto had put it.

'_If Kira's family did something bad, I'll have Temari destroy the evidence. People hated me due to my father's mistake. I'm not going to allow her family's mistake hurt her as well.'_ He turned his head, seeing that she had fallen asleep. He lay down beside her, and watched in amusement as she curled up beside him, latching on like a lost child.

'_My special person…'_

-o-o-o-

A few ninja appeared on top of the ruined clan homes. Each wore a mask of a dragon, hiding their faces. They were all wearing similar black and navy blue clothes, except for one. The clearly female ninja seemed to be the leader, and wore white and a colorful display of different shades of light blue. She looked to be dressed like a dancer besides the two swords that hung on her hip. Her mask was brightly colored as well, her straight, bluish-gray hair framing the mask as it fell in long layers down to the middle of her back.

"Master," one said to his leader, "All of the chakra is gone. But traces lead us to the village called Sunagakure. Sources also indicate that the heir of this clan, Kira Kagura, is on good terms with the Kazekage, Subaku no Gaara."

"The Kazekage? He has a demon spirit in him, yes? We can't take on that much power alone." The woman tapped her foot, seeming lost in thought. "The bitch probably resealed it somehow, and we're going to need it if we want to fulfill our mission." She turned to her men. "Alright. Let's go see who might be willing to help us. I have an old friend who's in an organization of S-ranked criminals. It shouldn't be too hard to get them to help. Go get the others. Tell them to get ready." She ordered, before the others raced off.

She giggled, turning towards the slab of stone below her. Kira's blood was still filling in the letters. "Rest while you still can, my cat. You have no idea the miserable fate you were born with."

-o-o-o-

MUAHAHAHAH!!! ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER!!!!

NYAH! Okies, now that the alternate ending is done, I can rest for a while before I finally start the sequel.

Jounin- Yes, Shikamaru is a jounin in this fic. Just in case some of you didn't catch that.

And the Kagura clan was exiled a few decades before the huge ninja war. If you go by the anime and Tsunade is 50, the clan was exiled about…. 80 or so years ago in this fic. Somewhere close to 100 years.

I hope you guys liked the alternate ending. I definitely found it more fun and interesting to write. Plus this will help me make things run smoother.

Well, I'm going on vacation to my other house in the Florida Keys. We go every year for Lobster Mini Season to catch those delicious tails. My birthday is being celebrated too, so it'll be a few days or weeks before I start updating again. But I'm bringing a notebook with me, so if I get bored or some HUGE idea or twist pops in my head, I'll have it for when I get back.

I want to make a quick thank you to all of you who have reviewed for me! I'll probably add something in here later to highlight those of you who have been with me all the way. I got over 100 reviews!!!! I was sooo excited. I wonder how many I should aim for the sequel?

Anyways, R&R! I wanna come home to find lots of them!

Ja-ne!

Kira


	21. Thanks, Comments, and Random Babbling

Hello everybody!

I was in class when I realized something. In order to keep this going, I'm going to redo this little comment here every week or so in order to keep it up and alive. The old ones are in the back of the lists, so I figure I put this up with the new. Selfish, yes, but smart.

PLAYING WITH FIRE IS OUT AND RUNNING!!!! SO GO CATCH IT!!!!

Well, I have gotten a bunch of ideas for the sequel of my fanfic while I was on vacation. And I actually wrote them down this time, and I have them saved on the computer. So I'll have it better written since I have an actual plan for it. It's almost in a format, even. Key word there is 'almost'. Because if you've ever seen my handwritten formats; they're not too pretty. Haunted was literally written as I went. I was just winging it. But if it turned out as well as it seems to, I guess I did fine.

ANYWAYS. School is starting in a week. Thus I want to get this sequel started before it starts in case I get too busy. I'm writing this as an informative post to tell you that I'm planning on calling it

'Playing with Fire'

There isn't much that I will tell you about the sequel. But only because I don't want to spoil anything. What would be the point of that?

I will tell you though that I _am_ keeping Shukaku in it, and I am having Deidara and Sasori in it as well. Maybe a few other Akatsuki members too. I love Deidara and Sasori a lot. Deidara is one of my faves, and I have a strange attraction to anime red heads. So Sasori is high on my list too. I'm messing up the story-line of the shippuden A LOT, since in the anime and such it was only a two year time skip before the two members attacked, along with a bunch of other changes. So don't tell me I'm an idiot when it comes to the anime/manga of Naruto. I've watched EVERY single episode that they have released EVEN IN JAPAN, and have read WAY into the manga online. **So I better not keep on getting these stupid emails saying I know nothing about the anime. That's an insult to me, and they have NO idea what they're saying. I don't just watch anime, I STUDY IT.**

But with that cleared up, I also wanna thank these few people who have been reading this fanfic since the beginning, and have been reviewing the whole time. If I hadn't gotten so many reviews, I probably wouldn't be writing this stuff still.

gaara'sonmymind

XxRosePetalxX

IcyOracle

Daffy-Doodles

Lyris88

Crystalline Dream

gaara-sasusaku7

DarkFoxFlame

The Norwegian Dragon

IEatChicken

Lady-Lillie-chan

xSweetAndToxicx

Bloody desert

Lee-All-The-Way

IQ TestsSuck

Chinchilla Ninja Leah

Gaara's Pyro RACCOON

CintaAnime4ever

Meko8

Nomeg Stylus

If I forgot somebody, just alert me, and I'll be more than happy to add you in! .

Thanks again! Keep an eye out for a new fic from me! I'll put it up the moment I get my computer back from the computer shop.(it broke on me… im at work at the moment…on break, mind you!)

Your Gaara nutcase,

Kira

P.S. I am a Gaara nutcase, for those who might argue or try to insult me about it. I know his blood type and favorite foods. I celebrate his birthday with my Gaara plushie, too. A little mini party with my other anime plushies. There's normally a brownie cake. I AM NOT WEIRD. He just probably never celebrates, yah know? Kages ARE BUSY!

Ja-ne


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